Things happen
by mahsa
Summary: What would happen if Steffy stayed in Paris after catching Liam and Hope on her and Liam s bed after finding out she was pregnant? What would Liam do? If he and Hope got married while Steffy was away, would they last when Steffy came back? With a baby on the way?
1. Chapter 1

**AN:**

 **This popped into my head while reading some posts on a message board, it doesn't actually have anything to do with those posts, but here it is.**

 **It has been difficult to find out if it is possible to do this trip, but as this isn't Real Life and it's a show, I get to have some creative freedom I think! Adam Gregory is my Thomas!**

 **This was originally meant to be a part of my What if... stories, but when I got to 4 pages written, I decided that this would not be a What if...-story, this is going to be a complete more then one chapter story...**

 **DISCLAIMER:**

 **As always I do not own anything that has to do with the show or the characters!**

Things happens

 **Chapter one**

She's standing just inside the french doors leading out to the balcony admiring the view laid out before her where she's been living since she left LA after witnessing her supposed to be boyfriend making out with his ex on their bed in the house they were going to spend the rest of their life together.

She was aware that she was hiding, both her self and her little secret, but also aware that there was no reason why Liam couldn't have come to Paris during the last seven months. She lays a hand on her ever expanding belly and whispers gentle words to the little life growing inside of her.

She had decided to stay in Paris for the duration of her pregnancy because the stress of LA probably wouldn't have had a positive influence on the growth of her baby. She was now in week thirty five and getting closer to her due date.

Which is why there were people walking all over her apartment packing it up for the move back to LA, because of the fact that she was thirty five weeks along, she was going back home by boat and train instead of taking the Forrester jet, although she had been offered it by her grandfather, he however didn't know about the pregnancy so coming up with a reason not to take the jet had been a hassle, but she had somehow convinced him that a boat crossing the Atlantic was a good choice.

She had been following the news from her home town while she was away and apparently her former husband had gained a brother while she was away as well as a new wife. He hadn't even bothered telling his girlfriend that he was marrying another woman. She entered week thirty two on the day they got married. Sure she hadn't told him she was pregnant, but she had a good reason for it, what good reason did he have not to end their relationship and tell her he was getting married?

"Excuse me Ms Forrester!" She whips her head around.

"Yes?" She sends off a smile towards the gentleman who spoke to her.

"I think we're done here, when are you leaving?"

"I'm leaving in a few hours. Thank you for your services! You've been very helpful!" She sends off a bigger smile while she slowly caresses her belly. He holds his hand out and she shakes it.

"We're only happy to help, you are paying us remember!" He sends her a smile back.

"Thank you anyway! You've been very pleasant to work with!" She tilts her head a little and then accepts the paper he hands over. "I'll pay this as soon as I know it's on the boat."

She was leaving all the big furniture because she had all her stuff in the apartment still, the things she was sending back was things she had sent for the second week she was in Paris. There was some stuff she would not live without and the moment she had decided to spend the next 28 weeks in Paris, she had called her brother and told him what to pack and what to leave behind. He had become suspicious when she didn't want more clothes then her underwear, bras and nightwear as well as some sweats packed, but she'd explained that she was living in the fashion capital of Europe, what else would she do but shop her days away?

She knew she was going to cause some trouble for a few people when she returns to LA, but she could care less about them, what she cared about was making sure that her child was born in the country she had been born in herself and in order to provide that, she had to leave now.

She gives a sigh and turns back around to the streets of Paris and walks out on the balcony one last time until her next visit, hopefully she'd have her baby with her then. She closes her eyes and breaths in the scent of Paris for a minute or so

"I'll miss you so much! Thank you for letting me stay here for a while!" She smiles and then she turns around, walks back into the apartment, closes the french doors and as she walks towards the door, she caresses every surface she can find on her way there and catching her purse on her way.

She hesitates for a little bit as she's standing outside the place she's called home for the last few months, but then her resolve takes over and she hears the click of the key turning in the lock and pulls it out while pulling on the handle to make sure the door is in fact locked.

She walks to the elevator and presses the button. As she's waiting, she's trying to figure out what she's going to tell Liam about the baby and what her former stepmother, stepsister and step was going to say about her pregnancy now that her former stepsister was married to her former husband.

She comes to the conclusion that it was best just to say that he was going to be a father and that she wasn't really interested in anymore then her baby knowing it's father, she could support the baby herself and she had a network of people behind her that she knew would be there for her and the baby.

The elevator rings and alerts her that the elevator is there and she steps into it. The ride down to the entrance floor is a calm one, even though the baby usually starts moving like crazy when she's in an elevator, it seems to sense Steffy´s mood at the moment and so it stays calm and in the same position it's been for the last few hours.

Her OB had sent all the test-results and medical information to the hospital that Steffy had chosen as the hospital where she would give birth and it had been in touch with Steffy to tell her that they had gotten the information. Two days before she had been to be cleared to take the trip she was going on and was given a clean bill of health and the okay to take it.

There's another ring and the doors opens so she gets out and walks through the foyer of the building she's been living in. She waves to the gentleman who's manning the doorman counter and flashes him a smile as she waddles out of the building waiting for her taxi to take her on the first part of the journey back to the states.

She had a suite booked on the boat and a whole room on the train, it even had a real bed instead of those bunks that you'd normally see in coupes on a train.

There's a taxi waiting for her as she walks out the building and she looks back towards the doorman and waves him her good bye and throws him a kiss.

She had been extremely lucky that Queen Ann II was going to be making a trip to New York the exact week she needed it to and that the cross country train was leaving three days after the ship would enter New York´s harbor. The luggage she meant to use during the crossing was already on it's way to England and probably already on the boat by the time she got there. She had sent it to the Forrester International office in London and had one of the assistants there take it to the boat and said assistant was meeting Steffy there and coming with her on the trip due to the fact that she was where she was in the pregnancy.

As she arrived at the train station in Paris to get on the train to Calais, she took a few moments to admire the architecture of the building as well as take a last look at the metropolitan she had called home for the last 28 weeks.

At the moment she had a 6½ hour train ride in front of her and she planned on making the most of it. She had her laptop with her and would be working a little bit and then take a few naps along the way. She had her own coupe for herself with the option of locking the door so she knew she wouldn't have to share it or risk having any of her belongings stolen. She was pretty sure it would be a calm ride.

~Things happen~

She woke up about 20 minutes before she needed to get off the train to change trains in Lille near the Belgium border and the rest of the way to Calais she had a couple of more train changes so for the rest of the way she would focus on doing the work.

When she finally reached Calais, the scent of the ocean flushed her senses and she almost felt like she was home in the house she and Liam had shared before she left for Paris.

She was changing to a boat crossing to Dover and then she'd take a train to South Hampton and meet up with the assistant. Every step had gone the way it had been planned to go. No hold ups anywhere and they were actually a little a head of time when she got to the train station.

She gets off the train and looks around to find Michala, the assistant that was crossing the Atlantic with her on the QAII.

She and Michala had actually been talking a lot and knew about the pregnancy and that that's the reason she was following along, but it would also give her a chance to visit with family in New York before following her boss to LA for a position in the PR-department of the main office. Michala had actually worked with Steffy in LA when Bill Spencer owned the company and had followed Steffy to Paris when she left before the whole triangle from Hell started and then she had been placed in London and now she was on her way back to LA because Steffy was going back.

"Ms Forrester! Steffy!" Michala comes running out of the main building. "I'm sorry I'm late, but the cab wouldn't get to the hotel on time, but we need to hurry now because I told him to wait for me and that I was bringing a heavily pregnant woman with me."

"Hi Ms James, it's okay, we're early actually, I'm not supposed to be here for another 5 minutes. But I'm so tired so I'm going to have to ask you to hurry up as well. I need to lay down for a while and then we'll go out to dinner, okay?" Steffy smiles at Michala.

"Yeah, that's fine by me. Do you want me to get you in a couple of hours? I have booked us rooms next to each other with adjoining doors, if you just leave that door unlocked I could come wake you up and not have to bang your door." Michala reaches for the computer case and then they start walking to the cab.

~Things happen~

They get to the hotel in one piece and Steffy lays down on the bed for a nap, her luggage is actually still at the hotel, but they were leaving the day after tomorrow, but it really shouldn't be a problem. Steffy knew she needed to take it easy for a day or two due to the stress of traveling and sleeping in unknown beds. As soon as she laid her head down, she was fast asleep.

At one point in time, Michala walked through the door between their rooms took off Steffy´s shoes and pulled a blanket over her as she had fallen asleep in just her maxi dress.

So when she woke up two hours later, she was still warm but a little bewildered, she starts moving about which causes Michala to walk through the door once again.

"Good morning, have a good nap?" She leans against the door frame. "I was about to come wake you up in 20 minutes but I heard you start moving about, so do you want me to book a table?"

Steffy is a little bit surprised.

"Oh, hi Michala! I forgot where I was there a little bit. No, actually, I think I'm craving fast food. French fries and burgers or fish or something like that. Could you maybe find some fish and chips shops? Otherwise McDonald´s would work just fine."

Michala´s eyes widened and her jaw dropped.

"I'm sorry, but does pregnancy really change a person that much? When we worked together in Paris you wouldn't have been caught dead in a McDonald´s restaurant."

Steffy chuckles.

"Well, that's why I'm sending you! Could you get some extra french fries? Salt and pepper on them!" Steffy smirks a little.

"Of course Ms Forrester!" Michala teases. "I'll go find out where to go and find you some food!"

She walks through the door again and then comes back five minutes later.

"I found a Fish and Chip´s place, I'll be back soon! See you in a bit!" Michala waves her hand and then walks back out.

40 minutes later she walks back through the door with a bag with the most delicious smell migrating out of it.

"Oh, delicious!" Steffy almost pounces on the bag and places it on the table to take everything out, then she relaxes back in the chair and enjoys her food.

It doesn't take long until she is moaning in pleasure at getting to eat what she was craving.

"Thank you so much for bringing me this!" Steffy´s eyes sparkles as she puts her hand down the bag once again.

"Your welcome! Didn't eat much on the train?"

"Oh, I ate plenty, but I'm hungry all the time right now and I'll be hungry again in about five minutes after I finish this, which is what the extra fries were for!" Michala nods her head in a Oh, that's why-motion.

"So I should go out and do some shopping then?" Michala raise her eyebrows.

"Yeah, fruits, fruits and vegetables mostly. Tortilla chips, salsa, sour cream and guacamole, bottled water and chocolate!" The sparkle in Steffy´s eyes only intensifies.

"I'll eat up and then go see if I can find a grocery store somewhere." Michala has written a list on the memo-function on her phone listing everything Steffy said.

"Sounds good to me. Maybe a cutting board and a knife too? We can send those to FI after. Or I'll talk to the hotel and ask if I could borrow some or leave the once you buy at the hotel. I'll call down now." Steffy licks her fingers and then moves over to the phone to call the reception.

Meanwhile Michala walks into her room to find a grocery store, she comes back just as Steffy hangs up the phone.

"Room service will loan us a cutting board and a knife due to us not being her for long, so you don't need to buy those. Everything else though I do want you to buy, surprise me!"

"Sounds fun!" She finishes eating and then she's off.

Three hours later she walks back into Steffy´s room and finds Steffy sleeping once again. She fills up the little fridge in Steffy´s room and the fridge in her own room with all she bought and then she goes and wakes Steffy up once again.

"Ms Forrester, you need to wake up now because I really don't think you should sleep like that all night!" She gives a light chuckle.

Steffy stretches and yawns before getting out of bed and into the bathroom to wash off the day and then she pulls on some leggings and a tank top to sleep in.

~Things happen~

Two days later they walk onto the QAII and embark on a journey that isn't that exciting. Everything goes exactly the way it's supposed to and six days later they leave the ship and step foot on American soil once again, because Steffy is thirty six weeks pregnant when she reaches New York, she has an appointment to check on the baby and make sure she's healthy. As she leaves the OB´s office, she has found out that both she and the baby is doing just fine.

Right now she had two and half days of relaxing to do and baby furniture to shop for. She had decided to shop for the baby stuff in New York and have it delivered to the apartment in LA during the time it takes the train to arrive in Los Angeles. It was a really good plan so she calls her big brother to be there in case the delivery happens before she gets there.

Currently she's waiting for him to pick up the phone.

"Hello, Thomas Forrester here!"

"Hi Thomas, this is Steffy. How are you doing?"

"Oh, I'm fine. What's up?"

"Oh, I'm going out on a shopping spree in New York in a little bit and was going to have it delivered to the apartment within five or six days when I get there, but I wanted to know if you could possibly stay at my place and sign for the stuff if I don't get home by that time?" Steffy is playing with the phone cord of the hotel phone while talking to her brother.

"Yeah, sure, I could sign for a few bags of stuff if that's what you want. No problem!"

"Well, it won't be a few bags of stuff, but thank you for doing this for me! You still have the keys right?" Steffy chuckles a little bit.

"What do you mean not a few bags of stuff?" Thomas is confused.

"It's more like big boxes of stuff, oh, and could you clean out the room that I used as storage for me?"

"Yeah sure, it's not like I have anything else to do." Thomas sighs.

"Thank you my dear big brother!" He can hear the smile in her voice as she thanks him. "Oh, by the way, I have a surprise I want to show you and unfortunately you cannot open any of the boxes, only put them in the storage room unopened."

"Oh, now you make me curious!"

"You just have to wait. If the delivery comes before the train arrives, can you come pick me up at the train station?"

"Absolutely, that way I can badger you into telling me your surprise."

"You'll just have to wait and see." There's a knock on her door letting her know that Michala is ready to go shopping.

"Yeah, I guess so. So, I take it you're gonna go on your shopping trip now? I mean, the knock on the door."

"Yes, I am."

"I'll see you later then!"

"Yes you will!"

~Things happen~

The shopping trip was very successful and she now owns a full nursery set and it was being shipped from the store in LA to her apartment the day after she arrives in LA.

So she had called her brother and told him that the delivery had been decided to come after she had already gotten to LA but that she still needed him to come get her at the train station and so, six days later they had just crossed the state lines to California and there was about 3 hours left of the train ride she calls and alerts her brother.

They got to LA right on time, Michala pulls out all of the luggage and goes to take it all out of the train when Thomas walks up to her. Michala and Steffy look practically the same from behind and this is what gets Thomas and the fact that Michala had all of Steffy´s luggage made it all worse.

"Hi sis! What's up?"

And then Steffy walks off the train.

"Hi big brother! What's going on?" Michala rises up and struggles to contain her giggles.

"Well, Thomas seems to think I'm you!"

At this point in time, Thomas looks his sister over and his jaw drops to the ground as he sees her big belly. He picks up his phone, snaps a picture and posts it on Forrester Creations Instagram under the title Look who's back in LA!

Steffy is wearing her signature maxi dress and it reveals her belly either way you look at it and across town just the fact that Steffy is back is causing problem.

Three Logan women were sitting in Brooke´s living room when the picture was posted.

"Oh no! What on earth is that?" Hope is the first one to see the picture. "Why is she doing this to me? Liam and I are finally married and she just have to turn up to cause problems?"

"Hey, maybe she's not here for Liam, she probably knows you're married already." Brooke says and then she notices the bump.

"Why else would she be here mom?" Hope starts panicking.

The news also arrive at Spencer Publications and Liam´s phone is the phone it's being looked at. Bill storms into his sons office.

"Did you know Steffy was coming back today?" Liam just shakes his head. "Did you know that she was pregnant?" Once again Liam just shakes his head. "Do you think it could be yours?"

"Who else could it be?"

As they are talking a man walks into Liam´s office.

"Hi! Are you Liam Spencer?" Liam nods his head. "Here you go!"

He the drops a legal document on Liam´s desk, excuses himself and leaves.

"What are those?" Bill asks.

"They are custody paper as well as ultrasound pictures and a document saying when the baby was conceived and the expected due date, a bunch of information about the progress of the baby."

"So, have you broken up with Steffy yet?"

"Well, I thought me having married another woman would tip her off that we were broken up, she stayed in Paris longer then she had to." Liam is getting a little bit frustrated.

"Well, you don't think she had a valid reason for that? I mean, you have heard what Katie, Brooke and Hope said about her when she was gone, how far do you think that the pregnancy had gotten with those three breathing down her neck telling her how she's in the way of you and Hope´s destiny?" Bill is getting angry with his son. "And look what you did just cause your girlfriend didn't come home when you wanted her to. You went and married the rival."

"Well, Hope was here, Steffy wasn't!"

"Well, why weren't you there with Steffy in Paris then? Why didn't you pack your bags when you got her call telling you to get Hope out of your system, that there was something bigger at stakes and that she was staying in Paris?" Bill slams his hand on Liam´s desk. "It's time you grow up son and take good care of your baby and I'm pretty sure Steffy will not want Hope around her baby so you better talk to Steffy!"

"I don't know why, but I couldn't leave the job and all my family was here." Liam knows his reasons aren't that good.

"Yeah, like you couldn't have the numbers and all that jazz sent through e-mail and then send your editors column through mail. The rest of us would have been fine, all you had to do was stay in touch. There is absolutely nothing here that would warrant you staying here in LA when your girlfriend was in Paris for some time other then you didn't really want to be with her. So, did you not want to be with Steffy or were you punishing her for staying away by marrying Hope?"

Liam just looks at his father like had just gotten punched in the face.

"All my reasons sounded legitimate when I made the decision not to go to Paris, but now after what you've said it doesn't make sense anymore."

A gasp is heard and both men turn around to see a well known face standing in the doorway.

~Things happen~

 **AN:**

 **So, what do you think?**

 **Is it worth continuing? Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:**

 **Yeah, so, the first chapter was a way to feel the crowd so to speak and since I got so many reviews and thus some replies to my question about if I should continue saying that I should, I decided to start writing chapter two the day I posted the first chapter of this story.**

 **I figure some people(me included) would like to have some sort of time line and so here it is.**

 **Steffy got pregnant middle of December 2012, she left LA on January 15th 2013 and left Paris on August 2nd 2013, she arrived on English soil that afternoon, QAII left Southampton, England, on Sunday August 4th and she arrived in New York on August 9th. She then came to LA one week later on August 16th just about to enter her 37th week of pregnancy, expected due date is Monday September 9th. Liam and Hope got married July 13th.**

 **No, this is not a Steam, Statt or Still-story(or is it? I guess we'll just have to wait and see.), neither has Brill happened. Katie never had PPD and so there was no Aspen-trip and Taylor did not out Brooke´s pregnancy at the party as there was none. Also, you might meet a familiar face in this story, someone who's been dead for at least a year on the show when this is taking place on the show, but as you know, when you're writing the story yourself, you can bring back people from the dead, so I did!**

 **DISCLAIMER:**

 **I do not own the show or it's character as those belongs to Mr Bell and his family.**

Things happen

 **Chapter two**

She had raced from her mothers house to her husbands office and had been standing outside of the door listening to his father berate him for the last five minutes. When she hears Liam saying that the reasons behind him staying in LA after Steffy left was not making any sense anymore after what his father had said to him it breaks her heart and surprises her beyond belief.

As she gasps the two men in the office look back at her and see a woman pale as a ghost.

"I guess you two have things you need to talk about." Bill slips out of the office to let the husband and wife talk.

~Things happen~

The car ride to the loft was quiet until Thomas had an epiphany.

"Hey! What was this surprise you didn't tell me?" Michala just chuckles. "What?"

Thomas starts looking around frantically.

"Did you look at your sister when you snapped that picture?" Michala questions.

"Uhm, yes?" Thomas starts looking confused.

"Really?" Michala says with surprise in her voice. "Are you sure?"

"Hey Michala, did you wanna go to my loft and stay the night or did you wanna go home?" Steffy interjects wanting to change the subject.

"I was planning on staying with you until everything is set up for you, if that's okay?" Michala puts her head through the two front seats.

"Yeah, that's fine with me, I'll probably need your help with the boxes tomorrow when they arrive." Steffy turns her head and smiles. "And the paint."

"Yeah, I figured." Steffy puts her hand up and let's Michala grab it. "I'll take the couch then."

By the time they've gotten to the loft, Michala and Steffy have been grocery shopping and the list was about the same as in South Hampton with a few additions.

Thomas had been sitting in the car while they shopped and been the dutiful big brother and chauffeur to his baby sister. He still didn't know what the secret was, but he was going to find out.

He parked right outside of the entrance to his sisters apartment building and then went to get all the luggage and groceries. Steffy had run ahead to hold the elevator so that they could put all of the stuff in it in one go so they didn't have to make multiple trips up and down.

"Hey Steffy!" Thomas tries to grab her attention as he comes in with some of the luggage.

"Yeah?" Steffy looks up from the yoghurt with curiosity in her eyes.

"How many knows about the pregnancy?"

"Well, since you posted that picture on Instagram I'd say the whole world?" Michala answers for Steffy as she comes walking in with grocery bags before Steffy even has a chance to answer and as such Steffy just nods her hand and points to Michala as confirmation.

"Oh, was I not supposed to do that?" Thomas is slightly confused. "How far along are you?"

"Better to rip the band aid off right? I'm about three weeks from my due date. Give and take a few days." Steffy smiles at her big brother as she's talking.

"Does Liam know? It is Liam´s right?" Thomas raises his eyebrows at the last question.

"Where was I thirty seven weeks ago Thomas?" Steffy looks at him questioningly.

"Here in LA and because I know how much you love Liam, there's no way you cheated on him and that would make that baby Liam´s baby."

"And yes, as of an hour or so, Liam knows about the baby since he'd gotten the custody papers by that time." Steffy is acting very guilty about it.

"Why hasn't Liam found out sooner?" Thomas tilts his head.

"Well, had he come to see me to break up with me before marrying Hope, he would have known about the baby, since he didn't, I didn't think he needed to know that he was going to be a father because he didn't feel it was important for me to know that my boyfriend, who I lived with before deciding to stay in Paris for a few months, wanted to break up with me to marry another girl. He is still my boyfriend you know. He still hasn't broken up with me and that leads to him having visitation rights to our baby." Steffy then shrugs her shoulders as she keeps eating the frozen yoghurt they got after getting out of the grocery store. "I'm not saying that him being my boyfriend is more important than him being Hope´s husband, but it would have been nice to find out that my boyfriend was going to marry another woman, you know?"

"So, about this surprise you were telling me about on the phone last week?" Both Steffy and Michala starts laughing.

"What, you think I didn't know about the pregnancy? Why else would you only want underwear and sweats? Besides, mom found the test in the trash can in your office, who do you think she thought it belonged to?" Thomas just smile and then he goes to get the rest of the stuff. Both Steffy and Michala look at each other with surprise evident on their faces, then they start laughing and Michala goes out again for more grocery bags.

~Things happen~

Meanwhile, back in Paris, there's a phone ringing in a bedroom belonging to a certain Taylor Hamilton. Who in her quest to grab the phone almost throws it on the floor.

"Hello?"

"Well, hello grandma!" The voice on the other end says.

"Has it happened already?" Taylor still hasn't completely recognized the voice on the other end.

"No, not that I know of, but don't you think it would be a good idea for your daughter to tell me I was going to become a grandfather instead of having to witness my son be served with custody papers after finding out by seeing a picture of Steffy in all her pregnancy glow on Instagram?"

At this revelation Taylor sits up in the bed in a flash.

"Oh, I guess Liam hasn't told you why Steffy chose to stay in Paris then? What she saw happening on her and Liam´s bed when she came to tell him about the baby **before** she went to Paris? How much faith she put in her relationship with Liam to be able to not walk in there and chew their heads off and go to Paris anyway?"

"What are you talking about?" Bill is thoroughly confused at these questions.

"Well then, I suggest you talk to your son about that and then question if your anger at Steffy not saying she was pregnant when she found out is really supposed to be placed on Steffy rather then your son and his wife." Taylor gives a yawn. "Now, I'm going to get back to sleeping and you can get back to me when you've talked to your son."

"Yeah, I should probably talk to him about it. You just go to sleep and I'll talk to you a little later." Bill scratches his head for a bit in confusion.

Taylor hangs up the phone and then goes back to bed.

Bill makes his way to Liam´s office once again and what he hears is Liam and Hope screaming their heads off.

" **Why does Steffy believe that you are the father of her baby? She's been gone for months!** " Hope is so frustrated.

Bill knocks on the door and Hope turns around with such force that she almost falls over.

" **Not** right now dad. I'm in the middle of something. Hope doesn't seem to believe that Steffy´s baby is mine because she's been gone for so long and she doesn't trust the papers Steffy gave to me."

"Well, why should I? It's not like she hasn't lied to us before!" Hope practically begs Liam not to trust the papers.

"Okay, I just need you to answer some questions that I couldn't answer when I called Taylor to ask why Steffy hadn't said anything about the baby." Bill takes a breath. "What did Steffy see happening on your bed when she came to tell you about the baby **before** she went to Paris? Taylor also asked me if I knew how much faith she put in her relationship with you to be able to not walk in there and chew you head off and go to Paris anyway?"

Liam´s face looses all color.

"She came to tell me about the baby? Why didn't she come in then? Why did she just stand outside and then left anyway?" Liam is slowly getting the color back on his face.

"Well, what would have happened on your bed on the day she left for Paris that would make her want to chew your head off, but put enough faith in the strength in the relationship you shared to go to Paris anyway?" Bill pushes.

"Oh no, no, no, no, no." Liam then drops into the chair he's been standing in front of. His conversation over the computer with Steffy about Hope and bigger things at stakes making more sense then before.

" **What** did you do?" Bill´s eyes harden as he watches realization dawn on his son.

~Things happen~

"I'm going to take a nap, could you put everything where it needs to be? You don't need to worry about waking me up, with the way I'm feeling right now, I won't wake up if an earthquake strikes LA." Steffy tells her brother and Michala.

"Okay! We'll get it done!" Thomas says.

"I'll wake you up when it's time for dinner?" Michala tilts her head and sees Steffy nod her head and trail away to her bed.

During the two hours Steffy sleeps, Thomas and Michala talk about Michala´s new job, the pregnancy, the trip over the ocean and what they think Steffy is really feeling about Liam and Hope being married as they put all the groceries away and puts laundry into the machine, hangs said laundry when it's ready, puts all the plates, glasses, cutlery and anything that's in the kitchen cabinets in the dishwasher for a rinse off as well as wipes the shelves in the cabinets.

About twenty minutes before Steffy wakes up Michala starts cutting fruits for a fruit salad and puts in three chicken breasts in the oven for dinner. She also puts a huge pot on the stove to cook some pasta and when she's done with the fruit, she starts cutting cherry tomatoes, red onion and then puts it in a bowl with some olive oil, salt, black pepper, basil and lemon juice. As she's cooking the pasta she decides to put some smoked paprika in the dressing as well. Replicating the spices used on the chicken breasts.

Thomas is setting the table as Steffy walks out of the bedroom in a pair of leggings and a tank top with an unzipped hoodie over it. She has a pair of bunny slippers on to keep her feet warm.

"I smell chicken and pasta!"

"Good sense of smell there sis!" Thomas chuckles a little.

"Always had it!" Steffy walks over to the table to sit down for a bit. She sits down and puts her head on one of her hands while resting her other arm on the kitchen table.

"Dinner is almost ready! I was about to come wake up you up, but you took care of that yourself. Again!" Michala play scolds one of her bosses.

"Yeah, I've been doing that a lot haven't I?" Michala nods her head at the question.

Thomas is about to say something when there's a knock on the door.

"Can you go get that Thomas? I'm not in the mood for anymore company then the people present in my kitchen." Steffy looks towards her brother with pleading eyes.

"Sure!" Thomas slips away towards the front door.

"Unless it's dad!" Thomas turns around and nods his head.

He opens the door and on the other side is a woman they were all very familiar with.

"Hi grandma! What's up?" He says the word grandma a little louder then he needs to, but only because he wanted Steffy to either come to the door or not come at all meaning she didn't want to see Stephanie either.

Knowing his sister really well, it was a good thing he did because her eyes started sparkling with glee and then she almost knocked the chair over in her haste to get to the door.

Stephanie holds her arms out to give her granddaughter a big hug and Steffy melts into it like she always has.

"Hi grandma!"

"Hello darling!"

"Would you like to eat dinner with us?" Steffy is still in her grandmothers arms.

"I certainly would like that a lot my darling!" Steffy waves Thomas away to set one more plate and to tell Michala that she's going to need to cut the chicken breasts up in slices to make it enough for all of them. She's currently whipping up some cream that she's going to mix with some thick flavored Turkish yoghurt to go with the fruit salad for desert.

The two Stephanie´s then walk over to the couch to sit down and talk a little.

~Things happen~

"You really are stupid you know that right?" Bill glares at his son and then he turns his eyes towards his daughter in law. "You really believe that just because you were lied to you're automatically approved for a second chance and what happened in the time between the lie happened and when it was revealed should just be erased because you don't like it? **He** asked you over and over and over to take him back and to trust in the love you shared, but could you do that? No, you trusted a man you don't have **any** relationship with at all over the man that is supposedly the love of your life, so he moved on and the moment you find out that what you had been told he had done and he had told you that he didn't do wasn't what he had done and that he was actually telling the truth, you automatically believe that you should just pick up where you left of because you were **robbed**?"

Hope shakes her head at the statement.

"Really? Then why on earth would you go to your ex-fiance´s home that he shares with another woman, pull all of her clothes out of the dresser and closet and throw them onto the bed and then push the man onto said clothes and start making out with him? Seriously, I know I haven't been the best husband myself, but at least I know that my choices are my choices and not someone else´s!"

Hope is so close to start crying at the moment and the fact that Liam doesn't even try to console her makes it even worse.

" _But it wasn't my choice!_ " Hope whispers just before the tears starts flowing.

"Really?" Bill glares at her. "Who chose to believe the DJ when he said he saw Liam and Steffy kissing? Who then when the lie came out decided that throwing Steffy´s clothes on the bed and making out with Steffy´s boyfriend, whom she was living with at the time, was a good idea? Who chose to not believe the supposed love of her life when he told her he hadn't been kissing his ex-wife the night before the wedding? It wasn't Steffy, it wasn't Rick, it wasn't Liam, it wasn't the DJ and it sure as hell wasn't me. So who made all those choices? Who's actions are those?"

Hope wasn't used to people calling her out on her actions and hearing her choices be laid out in front of her like that was an eye opener.

"They were mine. But it's not my fault that Rick lied about it and both Liam and I know that we would have been married if Rick hadn't lied about it." Hope retorts.

"No, it's not your fault he lied. But even if he did lie about it, you should have had enough faith in your love for each other to trust in the man you say will never love Steffy more then you. You chose to take what Rick and Othello said as truth and humiliated my son for something he hadn't done and then when you found out that Liam had been telling you the truth for months about it, you just decide that the relationship he had with Steffy isn't worth anything because Liam just simply couldn't love anyone other then you, especially Steffy. Isn't that the truth?"

Hope starts looking guilty and due to a feeling he's got in his stomach, Bill takes one more glare at his son and daughter in law and then he walks straight out the door with a final message.

"I didn't support your relationship before you walked out on my son the first time and I do not support it now!" Bill slams the door closed and then he walks out of the building.

~Things happen~

"So, when were you going to tell us about the baby?" Stephanie asks her granddaughter.

"Well, mom, dad and most of the people at the office in Paris knows about the pregnancy. I just had to find a way for Liam to find out and he was supposed to find out when he got the custody papers today, but Thomas beat the delivery by a few minutes and now the whole world knows."

"Are you here for Liam?" Stephanie looks her granddaughter in the eyes as Steffy answers.

"No, I'm not here for Liam. I mean, I am, kind of, but not for my benefit. I want my child to know it's father, I will not keep Liam from his baby. But I'm not interested in a relationship with him other then as parents. What's important to me right now is my child and my Forrester Creations baby. Romance has been put on hold until I'm ready to let someone in the way I did Liam. If Liam´s marriage to Hope doesn't last, it won't be because of me. Hope can have him. He made his choice when he didn't even bother to tell me that he wanted to end us to marry Hope, so now I have made my choice that I'm moving on and I'm happy and content because of it."

Steffy can see that her grandmother isn't exactly on board with what Steffy has told her.

"Trust me, I'm not happy Liam didn't think our relationship was worth a phone call to end it before he proposed to Hope, but I'm also happy for Hope and Liam. But me finding love for myself has been put on hold. I'll find love some time in the future and hopefully he'll be okay with me having a baby. But for now I'm going to keep my walls up and move on from the disaster that Liam and I were. As far as I'm concerned, there will be no more Liam and I but as parents to this little baby. Nothing else, nothing more and guess what! I really don't care if anyone believes me. This is my life, not theirs so if they don't believe me, then they should keep their thoughts to themselves and just watch what happens. I do not need any negativity in my life for the rest of it."

"I believe you honey!" Stephanie shows her support.

"Thank you grandma! Let's go eat!" Steffy get's off the couch and walk over to the dinner table and sits down.

"I believe you too sis! Otherwise you would have called Liam yourself to meet with him somewhere, but you haven't contacted him in anyway since you two hung up when you told him you were staying in Paris." Thomas looks determined. "Anyway, I guess that's why you wanted the storage room emptied?"

Steffy nods her head.

"Can I help Michala paint it?" Thomas smiles at his sister when he makes the request.

"You mean my baby would have a one of a kind Thomas Forrester paint job in it's room?" Steffy lights up again.

"Of course! I might even do a mural or something. I guess you'll just have to be patient! I'll help put the furniture together too!" Thomas nods his head as a that's final movement.

"Well, now that we've got that out of the way, it's time to eat!" Michala comes from the kitchen where she's finished the food and comes carrying a platter filled with food. There's even a green salad underneath the pasta and chicken.

"Oh, looks delicious!" Steffy puts food on her plate and starts eating. The other three soon follow.

Just as Steffy places the final bite in her mouth, there's a knock on her door. Michala gets up to see who it is.

"Hi!" Michala tilts her head. "Who are you?"

"Hi!" The person on the other side of the door looks just as confused. "I'm Bill Spencer and you are?"

"I'm Michala James and I start my new head assistant-position for Steffy in the PR-department of Forrester Creations in a few weeks after the baby is here. I take it you are the grandfather of said baby?" Michala reaches a hand out for Bill to shake.

"Yes, I suppose so!" Bill reaches his hand out for Michala to shake. "Can I see her for a moment?"

"I'll just go ask her! She's had a lot happen the last few weeks and she needs her rest." Bill just nods his head in understanding and then Michala walks away.

He can hear whispering going on from the kitchen and then he hears footsteps and as they are getting closer he looks up from the floor and is immediately overwhelmed with emotions as he watches Steffy walk over to the door to her former father in law.

Bill reaches out for her and she just glides right into his arms, he starts moving his hands up and down her back while tears slowly flows down his cheeks.

"I'm so sorry! So, so, so sorry. How are you doing?" Bill places a kiss on top of her head.

"I know. Truly, I know. I'm doing good. I've never been better actually!" Steffy steps out of his embrace and motions him to sit down on the couch. "You know it wasn't easy walking away when I watched them on our bed, but I knew that if I didn't I would miss the plane to Paris and my father needed me to come to him, so I put all of my faith in my relationship with Liam and hoped that the scene I watched through our bedroom window was just a temporary thing because I knew that the lie Othello told would have to come out sooner or later. I knew that I had some major news for Liam when I came home again and to be able to do so, I had to stay in Paris until I felt it was safe for both myself and the baby to come home. I didn't need the stress of having Hope, Brooke and Katie breathing down my neck telling me that I was standing in the way of Hope and Liam´s great big love story and stress wasn't healthy for the baby either so in order to keep my baby, I stayed in Paris."

Steffy has tears in her eyes.

"When I told Liam about me staying in Paris, I half expected him to say that the relationship was over, he never did and so imagine my surprise when I see a front cover of a magazine with the headline being Forrester´s eternal virgin and her fiance are about to tie the knot and right there is my boyfriend and my stepsister. He still hasn't talked to me about it. I specifically told him to get Hope out of his system because there is something bigger at stakes then just us. I'm pretty sure he took that as he could do what ever he wanted and that I just probably was doing the same in Paris while I was away. Anyway, baby is doing fine and there has been no problem at all. At the moment I'm just waiting for the Logan´s to come and berate me for putting a wedge between Hope and Liam because I came home pregnant with his child. Trust me, I'm not here for Liam, at least not for myself."

At that particular moment, the baby starts kicking.

"Here, feel this!" Steffy grabs a hold of Bill´s hand and puts it just below the right side of the ribs and Bill´s eyes light up like fire works. Steffy smiles at Bill.

"I am fine, content and so happy where I am right now. I have my family and I have my baby. My mistakes are mine and his are his. But I'm not here for Liam other then for him to know his child. That's it."

Bill just nods his head.

"How long have you got until baby comes?"

"Three weeks give or take. How's Katie doing?"

"Katie is doing fine, as is Will!" Bill´s eyes starts sparkling with excitement at the mention of his wife and son.

"That's so good! Now, I'm tired and need to sleep, again, so if you don't mind I need you to leave so that I can take my before I go to sleep for the night-nap. I have a feeling there will be an onslaught of people wanting to find out what on earth I'm doing home and I just don't have the energy to answer those questions right now."

Bill gives Steffy a hug and then walks to the door.

"Can I help in any way?"

"Just get Liam to sign the papers, either version is fine. But make sure he knows what he's giving up if he signs the other set of papers. Good night!" Steffy gives Bill a hug and then she goes back into the bedroom and takes her fourth nap of the day.

~Things happen~

Four hours after hanging up the phone after Bill called her, her phone rings again and because she's sleeping still, the phone almost lands on the floor again.

"Hello?" The sleepiness in her voice evident for the one on the other end.

"Still sleeping I hear?" The laughter evident in the voice of the person on the other side.

"Well, yeah, it's four am and I'm not due to get up for at least two hours. What do you want Bill?" Irritation is seeping into her voice.

"Well I have now talked to my son and actually, I think I ripped their heads off. I have also talked to your daughter. That is one strong woman you've raised there!" A sense of pride is heard through the line.

"Well, I can't take all the credit, Ridge and Brooke had a little hand in it too." Taylor fluffs up her pillows and places them against the headboard to lean against while talking to Bill.

"Yeah, but the strength I see in her is all you Taylor, I promise!" Bill chuckles a little bit.

"Yeah, sure. So, you ripped your son´s head off you say?" Curiosity takes over.

"I believe so, when he told me that Hope came over and threw all of Steffy´s clothes on the bed and then proceeded to make out with Liam on those clothes I finally had enough of Hope and her childishness. I told them when I left that I do not support them and that I never have even though I stopped fighting them so hard when they did get married because I thought that Steffy wasn't coming back so he might as well move on. Now all of us knows he shouldn't have moved on so I'm revoking my support and now they'll have to earn it." The anger in his voice rises as he's talking.

"Well, he's still married and has been for what, over a month now, he'll just have to deal with it. So, what are you going to do with the papers? I know Steffy would want you to make sure he signs the shared custody papers, but I really don't believe he should sign those and sign the papers that state that Steffy will have full custody and he only gets visitation rights, I just don't trust that Hope or her mother will have Steffy and Liam´s child´s best at heart. I know Brooke certainly didn't have my children´s best at heart when they were younger and she certainly doesn't now." Taylor speaks with conviction.

"Yeah, I really don't either. I'm going to talk to him about all of this and give the examples and the advice that I can give him." Bill´s voice gets a little bit unsure. "I got to feel the baby kick when I went and saw Steffy!"

"It's an amazing feeling isn't it? Feeling your first grandchild kicking inside the belly?"

"It was almost more amazing than feeling Will kick inside Katie." A sense of pride returns to Bill´s voice. "So, are you going to catch those last two hours of sleep or are you going to be productive? Steffy said she was going to take a nap for a bit before getting ready for her evening. I'm guessing she's starting to practice sleeping while the baby is sleeping."

"I'm going to try and get that last hour and a half and then get up. You'd better prepare yourself for your future grandchild! Good night Bill!"

~Things happen~

Just as Bill hangs up the phone, Liam finds the second set of custody papers and confusion is spread across his face.

Hope reaches over and grabs the papers.

"See, I told you! You're not the father of that baby!" Hope smirks.

"Seriously? Did you even read what it said?" Liam bites back. "It's another set of custody papers where I sign away my rights to any custody of the baby and just gets visitation rights. Nowhere did it say that I'm not that baby´s father."

"Well, sign them then. I don't want anything to do with that baby unless I absolutely have to." Hope says with disgust in her voice.

"How can you say that about my baby? That's my first born child and you just want me to give that up?"

"We'll have children Liam, it's not like this is the only child you'd ever have. Why is this one so important?" Hope places her hands on her hips.

"Because it's my baby! That's why!" Liam looks up at his wife with anger in his eyes. "I just don't get why you don't want me to have contact with my own child any more then scheduled visits."

Then realization hits.

"Unless it's because it's because Steffy is the mother. That's it isn't it? I mean, we worked it out when we thought Amber was having my baby. This disgust you're displaying is because it's Steffy´s child too isn't it?"

"Well, can you blame me after everything she's put us through?" Liam is taken slightly a back.

"And what's that exactly?"

"She manipulated you into marrying her on that mountain top in Aspen. She tried to take you away from me before our wedding, many times might I add and now she's luring you back with a baby!"

"If I hadn't wanted to marry Steffy on that mountain top in Aspen, I wouldn't have married her. When she realized that I was serious about marrying you, she backed off, but by then you had already decided that our love wasn't strong enough to fight for. You know what? If you had fought for us back then, there wouldn't have been a trip to Aspen leading to mine and Steffy´s wedding. The reason we didn't get married back then was you not believing in us and our love. Had your certainty in our love been stronger, none of this would've happened." Liam is getting frustrated. "Can you please leave now, I need to get some work done because I'm so behind because of this. I'll see you at home!"

He then dismissed her and focused on the work.

~Things happen~

 **AN:**

 **You know what to do! Let me know what you think!**

 **At the time this chapter is posted I have a few chapters written and a few chapters still to be written so don't think you'd get regular posts.**

 **I will however have started posting I'm done! and Goodbye to yesterday! Please read those two too!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN:**

 **I think an explanation is needed. The first part of the second day this chapter includes happens before the last sentence of the Brooke section of this chapter that starts with Two hours... I felt I needed to say this to avoid confusion and prepare you before hand!**

 **If you have seen this next section before, that's cause it's been used before in some chapters of my other stories:**

 ** _Since starting this chapter, I have changed the operating system on my computer and as such has had to install the program I write in again and as this is a newer version of the old one, it does not behave the way I'm used to, the spellcheck feature for example doesn't work and because of that reason I don't know if everything is spelled the way it's supposed to be._**

 **Don't own a thing, as always!**

Things happen

 **Chapter three**

Hope really didn't understand how easily Steffy had sneaked her way back into their lives again, she also couldn't believe that Liam so willingly let her push her way back in and how easily he had dismissed her just now.

"You seriously believe you can just dismiss me like that? I am your wife and I should have a say in our life!" Hope starts pushing stuff off his desk in frustration.

"Oh yeah? You should have a say in our life? What about my rights to have a say in our life before you put that ring on the mantle? What about my right to have a say in our wedding plans and not having to find out when I'm getting married during a press conference for your line at Forrester Creations? Had I known what was waiting for me when I proposed, I probably wouldn't have done it. Do you have any idea how I felt every time I tried to talk to you about our wedding and you said you were needed somewhere else?" Liam is starting to get really frustrated. "What about every time you decided that our love wasn't enough for you? Why wasn't our wedding in Puglia enough for you?"

"The way you so easily believes anything that comes through her mouth makes me believe that the only way for you to commit yourself to me is to sign the second set of papers."

"She left our house that morning not knowing that she was pregnant with my child, when she comes back to tell me that she's pregnant, she finds the **two of us** ," he points between them "on mine and Steffy´s bed rolling around on her clothes making out. I knew it was wrong when it happened and I knew it was wrong long after it happened. I should have listened closely to what she said when she said she was staying in Paris for a while and then gone to see her. I should have fought for us."

Hope starts to tear up at the last few sentences.

"Yeah, but you didn't and you chose to marry me and share your happily ever after with me, so do that! Don't let her destroy us again!" Liam looks up from the papers he's been studying while talking to Hope.

"Why shouldn't I, you've done it so many times before and it hasn't always been Steffy that you've deemed the cause of us falling apart. Did you not hear what my father said? Your choices are what drove us apart the last time. I fought so hard for you, but you just couldn't wait to believe a man you've never even met before because you hate Steffy so much and therefore punished the both of us for something we hadn't even done. When are you going to realize that your choices are your choices just as mine are mine? I chose to walk away from Steffy and I´s relationship because I didn't hear that Steffy was only staying a limited time in Paris and believed that she was staying indefinitely. Steffy watched the two of us make out on her bed and she still had enough faith in our relationship to go to Paris anyway because she knew that our love was strong enough."

Liam places the pen in his hand on the desk as he's speaking.

"Oh please, she knew that once the lie was out there was no way you'd stay with her and you proved her right when you married me! Please stop saying that your relationship was anything other then a manipulation on her part!"

"Are you serious? You're the one who believed someone other than the man you were supposed to marry and you chose to not believe the supposed love of your life over a man you've never even met before! Had I actually listened to what Steffy said, I would've known that she wasn't leaving me by staying in Paris for a few months and I should have gone to Paris to be with her!" Liam starts working again. "You need to leave now and I will see you at home! Or not, that's totally your choice!"

"Are you threatening me right now?"

"No, I'm giving you a choice. Either you have enough faith in us even after everything I've said that would probably lead you to believe the opposite and go home or you simply don't have enough faith in us and **you** walk away from our marriage. Your choice! Now choose!"

~Things happen~

Bill Spencer walks through the front door of the house he shares with his wife and youngest son and what he sees is his wife walking around with their son on the floor holding him up by the arms and him taking a stroll around the living room furniture.

"Hello little guy! How are you doing?" When Will saw his father he started walking over to him and when he reached him put his hands up for Bill to pick him up.

"So, I hear you're becoming a grandfather." Katie has her fake smile on, the one specifically reserved for one Steffy Forrester.

"I am, and I'm pretty stoked actually." Bill smiles his typical 'I'm really happy about this.' smile.

"Well, it's pretty convenient for Steffy to return now with a baby on the way don't you think? Liam and Hope are finally married and here she comes to cause problems."

"Oh, Steffy´s not here for Liam. She's here to let her baby have a relationship with it's father. Which is why she still hasn't been contact with him since she told him to get Hope out of his system and that she was staying in Paris for a few months." Bill dismisses Katie´s claim that Steffy is here to cause problems. "The only ones causing trouble between Hope and Liam right now are Hope, you and her mother. How about the three of you actually step back and see what happens? When I left the office Hope and Liam were screaming at each other and when I left Steffy, Thomas, Stephanie and Michala, Steffy was perfectly content with not having contacted Liam since."

"Of course she's here for Liam, why else would she be here?"

"To raise her baby in her home town? Get back to working at her family business? Steffy even sent Liam two sets of custody papers. One with shared custody and one where she gets full custody and he gets visitation rights, it's up to him now. She's got the support and finances to raise that baby on her own, she doesn't need Liam in anyway, her baby does though and that's why she's in LA, she'd probably be perfectly content to raise the baby in Paris, but she's choosing to raise it in LA so that Liam gets to be a father to his child."

"How kind of her!" Katie rolls her eyes.

"Well, what would you say if she hadn't told him at all, had the child in Paris and then come back in a few years with a five year old little child who looks like the perfect blend between the two of them?" He looks into her eyes and sees his answer. "Yeah, I thought so. Nothing Steffy does is ever good enough. Steffy could have stopped the wedding remember, but she chose not to so why don't you give her a little bit of credit?" Bill starts walking away. "Maybe you should just remember just which one of your niece and Steffy slept with a man married to someone else."

"Well, that's easy. Steffy did! She slept with you remember!" Katie smirks thinking she's right.

"Oh, trust me, Steffy and I tried so hard, but we never did. Your niece however slept with Liam while he was married to Steffy to 'take her power away' and she did it so badly she started popping pills in order to do it! As far as I know, the only married man that Steffy has ever slept with was her own husband." Bill walks out into the kitchen. He then peeks out the door. "Oh, by the way, Steffy asked how you and Will were doing , so I told her and she was happy that you're doing great!"

As she watches Bill walk to the kitchen with a stunned expression on her face, Bill crosses the threshold and goes to find himself some stuff to make a sandwich. As he's pottering about, Will starts yawning.

"Oh, is it time to go to bed maybe?" He places a kiss on the little boys forehead and then takes his son and the sandwich upstairs to put his son to bed.

~Things happen~

Some hours later it was nearing ten pm when Steffy emerged from the bedroom next time and what she saw on the couch makes her smile.

Michala and Thomas had started watching a movie, but had fallen asleep while watching it, so Steffy walked over, placed a blanket over them, took their shoes off and turned the television of. She then walked into the kitchen and took a glass from the dishwasher, filled it up with water, took her vitamins and then took the glass with her to place on the bed stand, then she walks into the storage room and looks around, she can already see it in her mind and she has a feeling of what Thomas will be doing, it would look so good with the furniture.

She goes back to her bedroom and lays down to fall asleep until she needs to use the toilet the next time.

~Things happen~

The next morning, there's a knock on the door to Steffy´s apartment and this causes Michala to jump from the couch. Disoriented, she looks around and then she looks down on the couch.

"Oh, right." She rubs the sleep from her eyes, checks the time, seeing it's only 7:50 am she's a little confused and then she goes to the door to check who's out there, she opens the door and the first thing that happens is that she gets slapped. "Seriously? What did I ever do to you?"

"I'm sorry, I thought this was Stephanie Forrester´s apartment."

"Well, it is and you really have some nerve slapping a pregnant woman if that's what you were after. Seriously, she's thirty seven weeks pregnant, ready to deliver at any time and you just thought you could assault her? What do you want with her anyway?" Michala puts on her best 'protecting my boss because you pissed me off'-look on her face.

"Well, she came back looking to cause trouble for my daughter and her husband."

"Oh, you're Brooke Logan. The woman who told her daughter to sleep with another woman´s husband to take away the wife´s 'power'. Seriously? You forced your daughter into a pill addiction because of it. Oh, and by the way, Steffy is not here for Liam for any other reason then to let him be near his kid while it's growing up. You really need to start supporting your daughter instead of slapping your son in law´s girlfriends assistant. Grow up, not everything is a competition!" Then Michala slams the door in Brooke´s face with a smirk on her lips. Brooke of course starts banging on the door to get Michala to open it again. That same banging is what wakes Thomas up, he gives a big yawn and then looks around the room.

"Hey, who's at the door?" He frowns in concern that Steffy would wake up because of all the noise.

"That would be your former stepmother. You know, the one you got stranded on an island with." Michala throws a big knowing smile his way.

"Why is she banging on the door?" He walks over to the door to his sisters bedroom and takes a look inside. Then he walks over into the kitchen to help Michala with breakfast. "And why is your cheek red?"

"Well, she's banging the door because I slammed it shut in her face because I know Steffy doesn't need this right now. The reason my cheek is red because the first thing Brooke did when I opened the door was slap me." Michala takes out a honey melon from the fridge and starts cutting the peel off to make squares of melon.

"Why would she slap you?" Thomas starts putting cut up bananas in a blender and pours some almond milk in with it as well as some spinach, protein powder, some spices, frozen raspberries, black berries and blue berries.

"Well, she wasn't going to slap me. She had someone else in mind for that." Michala can see Thomas face harden at the thought of his sister getting slapped while pregnant. "Don't worry, I told her some truths and then slammed the door in her face."

The banging had stopped, but they could still hear that there was someone on the other side.

"Seriously, open this door right now! I need to set Steffy straight that she can't have Liam because he's married now!" Thomas and Michala look at each other and then Thomas walks to the door and opens it.

As it's opening, Brooke takes the opportunity to get inside the apartment. Thomas however was anticipating this and so placed himself in the door opening. Michala walks over as well and blocks the space that isn't blocked by the dresser next to the door on the other side of Thomas.

"What about Steffy not having any contact with Liam since just after she left for Paris makes you say she's here for Liam? Do you really seriously believe that Liam would be married to Hope right now had he actually gone to talk to his girlfriend in Paris?" Thomas raises his eyebrows. "And what gives you the right to slap Michala here? And do not say you thought it was Steffy, because it's assault either way!"

As he's talking, Brooke´s face turns a lot of shades lighter then she normally is.

"Well, why else would she come now? She's had months to tell him before coming back to LA."

"Maybe because she's nearing the end of the pregnancy and going back to LA from Paris in a few weeks would've been to dangerous for both her and the baby. She wanted the baby born in the town where she grew up, she also wanted the baby to know it's father. The only ones causing trouble right now are you and Hope. Hope should have enough faith in her marriage that Steffy won't be a problem and you should have enough faith in your daughters feelings about her marriage that Steffy shouldn't be a problem when she hasn't even been in contact with Liam since she told him to get Hope out of his system. How does it feel knowing your daughter married a man that didn't even break up with his girlfriend before marrying your daughter? How does it feel knowing that the mere presence of Steffy in LA is causing so much trouble for Hope without Steffy even talking to anyone else other then Grandma, me, Michala, mom and Bill?" Thomas tilts his head with a questioning look on his face.

"My daughter married the love of her life, Steffy´s relationship wasn't worth a break up because there wasn't a relationship to begin with!" At this Thomas starts laughing.

"Are you serious? Steffy and Liam were living together and Steffy left LA six weeks pregnant. You know, Steffy´s relationships with Liam has lasted far longer then your daughters relationships with the same man. How exactly do you explain that?" Thomas doesn't wait for Brooke to answer. "Anyway, we've got to finish breakfast because Steffy will be hungry when she wakes up and she needs her energy. Goodbye!"

He then closes the door and goes back into the kitchen. Brooke keeps banging the door so Michala walks back over to the door and shouts through it.

"If you don't leave now, I'll call the police and have you arrested for assault and stalking!" As her respond to this, Brooke slams the door with both her hands.

"She won't have him! She'll never have him again!" Then she starts walking away, when she gets halfway to the elevator, Thomas opens the door again.

"The only ones who are saying that she wants him back are you Logan´s, Steffy made her intentions perfectly clear when she sent those two versions of custody papers to Liam yesterday. She has the support and financial stability to support the child on her own, she doesn't need Liam to raise this baby. The only reasons she's here in LA is because she wants the baby to know it's father and she wants to get back to Forrester Creations. Not a single thing she's doing right now has a single thing to do with your daughter and her marriage. If Hope isn't secure in her marriage, then she shouldn't have married Liam in the first place!" He then closes the door again and locks it.

~Things happen~

About half an hour later, Steffy starts stirring which gives Michala the go a head to start the blender to make the smoothies complete and she knows that the sound will wake Steffy up completely.

Five minutes later, Steffy emerges from her bedroom dressed in a similar outfit as last night, but in a t-shirt instead of the tank top.

"G'mornin'! How are you doing? Did you enjoy the movie?" She looks so tired.

"Good morning boss!"

"Morning sis!"

Both Michala and Thomas look at each other.

"We're good and what we saw of the movie was good. It's tiring to ride a train all day and then carry a bunch of suit cases off said train and into a car, go to the grocery store..." Michala starts but Steffy cuts her off.

"Yeah, I know! It's exhausting!" Steffy sits down at the table and moans.

"So, are we going to get the paint before or after the delivery comes?"

"They said that it would be delivered before noon so I say we get the paint after." Michala comes over with a glass of smoothie for Steffy and she practically gulps it down, two and a half minutes after Michala put the glass down full, Steffy does the same with the glass empty.

"You want some more there?" Steffy looks up at Michala and nods her head. Michala and Thomas look at each other and Michala points at him, indicating that he's letting Steffy have his smoothie.

Thomas just shrugs his shoulder and puts the platter with melon cubes in front of his sister and watches her eat piece after piece.

Michala turns on the coffee maker and when it's done she hands Thomas a cup. The second glass of smoothie goes down at a gentler pace then the first one.

"I have to go to the bathroom. This little one is making me uncomfortable. I'm going to lay down afterward and read a book or something, maybe take a nap. Come check on me when the delivery guys comes!"

"Will do!"

~Things happen~

When Bill Spencer wakes up that morning, there's a joy in his heart that he hasn't felt in years. He's not entirely sure why, but more then likely it has to do with the baby resting in his sons former girlfriends belly. The moment he thinks about said baby´s father his heart sinks. Bill was so disappointed in his son and the way he had handled Steffy leaving for Paris. He turns over to his wife and looks at her for a few minutes. He was also annoyed with his wife because you could tell from the start that Steffy had been a much better match for Liam over the fairytale demanding Logan-princess that runs the moment things doesn't go the way she wants them to.

Now that Steffy had let go of her love for Liam, there was no way he'd get to have Steffy in the family other then the mother of his grandchild. Come to think about it, Steffy hadn't said if it was a boy or a girl and there had been no indications as to wether or not she knew what gender the baby was.

Either way, Liam had a big decision to make. Bill hated the fact that Liam wouldn't be living with the child at all times, but he also knew that it was probably better then the baby having to be in Hope´s care. He still agreed with Taylor that it wouldn't be a good idea to have the baby living with Liam and Hope. Who knows what Hope could do to that baby if her jealousy got to big a hold on her. No, it was probably best for the baby if Liam signed the second set of papers. They could revist the custody situation at a later point when the child is a little bit older and not as dependant on Steffy for everything in a few years time. Yes, this was a good idea and he was going to talk to Liam about it.

He nods his head and then gets out of bed to start his day.

~Things happen~

An hour or so he comes down to the kitchen and takes his first cup of coffee, then he fills up his to go-cup and leaves the house to go to work. Across town his son is doing the exact same thing.

Half an hour later, they both enter the parking lot of Spencer Publications and Bill can see that Liam is not happy.

"Hey! What's wrong?" Liam´s head whips up hearing his fathers voice.

"Shouldn't you already be sitting behind the desk in your office?" Liam snaps.

"Well, yes, probably, but I took a few extra minutes to spend some time with my son before coming to work today so I am a little late. But that's not what I was talking about. Why are you so mad?"

Liam just glares at his father and then stomps off to get to work. Bill raises in eyebrows in confusion and then tilts his head. He then takes off after his son and meets the concerned faces of his employees on his way, he just shrugs his shoulders as a respons to the question in their eyes.

When he gets to the floor his office is on, he decides to let Liam cool off and then come to him rather then him hounding his son for answers.

~Things happen~

When Brooke Logan wakes up that morning, something in her house feels different, she doesn't really know why, but she gets her answer when she comes down to make breakfast.

She walks down the stairs and sees atleast 4 suitcases of stuff and she recognizes them as the ones her daughter had moved her stuff to Liam´s place in after they had packed up all of Steffy´s stuff and moved it to the apartment.

"Hope! Are you here?" She starts searching for her daughter, turns around and goes upstairs again, checks RJ´s room, Hope´s old room and then Bridget and Rick´s rooms. But Hope´s not there. "Maybe I'm seeing stuff."

She turns back towards the staircase and walks down again. No, the suitcases are still there, so she goes into the kitchen and finds her daughter sitting at the breakfast table with her head in her arms on top of the table sleeping. She walks over and caresses her daughters cheek in order to wake her up.

The moment Hope opens her eyes, tears starts falling.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"He threw me out. Steffy comes back, sends him custody papers and he throws me out. Why couldn't she just stay away?"

"I'll be back in a little while." Brooke turns around, goes upstairs, changes out of her lounge clothes and goes over to Steffy´s place.

Two hours later, she's back at her own house seething with anger. Brooke slams the door to her car shut and then walks up the driveway. Into her house and then over to the kitchen to talk to her daughter. She's not there however and then she realizes that she didn't see the suitcases on her way in and so she realizes that Hope has moved them upstairs.

She walks upstairs and over to the door of her daughters room. She leans against the doorframe and watches her daughter place her stuff back into the drawers and the closet.

"So, I just came back from Steffy´s place. Apparently she hasn't been in contact with Liam since just after she went to Paris months ago. What did you mean when you said Liam threw you out?" Hope is taken by surprise and turns around in shock.

"He told me to get out. I told him yesterday that he needed to sign the set of papers that gave Steffy full custody or I was leaving him for good. He said I needed to give him time to decide and during said time I could either be at home with him or leave. So I stayed. Then this morning I left."

"When did he tell you to get out?"

"He told me to get out or stay. So I got out. If he couldn't give me what I wanted, I wasn't going to stay while he decided wether or not he was going to give Steffy the chance to sneak her way into his life through the baby."

"But Hope, he gave you the choice to either show that you have enough faith in the strength of your marriage or that you don't. You just showed him that you don't. Besides, no matter what, Steffy is already in his life because of the baby, now I didn't see Steffy while at Steffy´s place, but I saw Thomas and this random girl I've never seen before and Thomas said something that made me think."

"And what's that? That Steffy is not here for Liam? Of course she is, there's no other reason for her to be here."

"He said that if **you** don't feel secure enough in your marriage, you shouldn't have married Liam at all and that the only people causing trouble to your and Liam´s marriage is you, me and Katie. Steffy hasn't even talked to Liam in how many months? Yes, I believe that some part of her is here for Liam, but we both know that if she wanted Liam for herself, she would've delivered those custody papers to him herself."

"So? She knows she could never keep him if I'm around so she's taking the easy way out."

"How long did it take Liam to finally commit to you after Steffy left?" Hope is shaken to the core with that comment.

~Things happen~

Around noon, Michala goes to check on Steffy and finds her half sitting on the bed with a book by Nora Roberts on her belly and her glasses laying strangely over her face.

"Steffy!"She starts caressing Steffy´s cheek and finds that Steffy starts stirring and stretches as well as she can.

"Hey! Are they here?"

"They just left an hour or so ago. They had everything with them when they came and Thomas could sign for it. We didn't see a need to wake you up since he could do that. He showed them your drivers license and his and I showed them mine. It was perfectly alright to do so. They moved the stuff into the nursery and we decided to not open the boxes until the painting was done. I came to wake you up so we could go get the paint." Michala smiles.

"Oh, let me just change clothes and we'll go after that." Steffy starts moving out of the bed and then she looks up at Michala, who's started to walk out of the room. "We need to measure the walls to get the right amount of paint."

Michala just shakes her head.

"Thomas has already done that. He's also drawn up a few sketches for the mural." She then turns around and walks out through the doorway.

Steffy walks over to her closet, takes out a knee length dress, a jean jacket and a pair of flip flops to put on as her outfit of the day and then she walks out into the livingroom and then they leave.

~Things happen~

It took almost four hours for Liam to cool down, but he was thankfull towards his father that he had stayed away and not preassured him into saying what was wrong. He gets upp from his desk chair, leaves his office and then walks across the hall to his fathers office.

He knocks on the door and hears his father tell him to come in.

"Hi!" He greets his father shyly.

"Oh, you've cooled down now I suppose?" He can see that Liam isn't as tense anymore. "So, what's wrong?"

"I came home yesterday evening and Hope was there, with her bags packed threatening me that unless I sign the second set of custody papers, she was leaving for good. So I said that I needed to think about it and if she wanted to stay or leave for the time it takes me to decide that was her choice, she didn't take it well and went into the guestbedroom and stayed there last night. Then when I woke up this morning, she's gone. I told her yesterday that she either needed to have faith in us and go home or she could leave. I thought that since she went home yesterday, she decided to have faith in us. Looks to me like she doesn't."

"What else was said? Is there anyway she could have misunderstood?" Bill tapps his pen on the desk.

"There's no way she could've misunderstood. She had a choice to make as do I. She feels as though her choice is dependant on my choice and it shouldn't be." Bill nods. "She either wants this marriage because of the love we share or she wanted it because it would mean she beat Steffy at something and I'm starting to believe it's the second and maybe she's now realizing that building a relationship on her wanting to win something really isn't a good foundation for a relationship."

"Here's the thing. I've been thinking about this. I really think you should sign the second set of papers and have a stipulation that the arrangement can be changed in the future to shared custody. I really don't think Steffy would say no to you wanting to spend time with your child and that's what's going to make this possible. That baby will need Steffy for **everything** and your life is in to much chaos at the moment that that little baby will not have any stability while with you. In a few years time, you can increase the time you spend with the baby and discuss the custody situation then. This way you and Hope can work out your issues and you can spend time with the baby, but the baby will always have a stable place where it's safe. I really don't think that the baby would be safe around Hope..." Liam starts objecting and Bill puts his hand up to stop him. "... if Hope was in charge of caring for the child while you leave for a short period of time because of Hope´s jealousy towards Steffy and the fact that Hope will not be giving you your first child and this is also Steffy´s child. The two of you got married not knowing the whole story and you need to make it work. For better or for worse you said in your vows and you need to remember this."

"But I should have a say in my childs life."

"Did your girlfriend have a say in you marrying another woman? Was she even told?" Liam looks down in shame. "That's what I thought. Steffy could have chosen to stay in Paris and not told you about the baby at all and then come back years from now with a five year old. How do you think Hope, her mother and aunts would've reacted then? You need to give Steffy and that baby what they need. Steffy will not keep you out of the decision making progress, you know that's not who she is. She also won't keep you from the child, I really don't think that there would be any problem to re-evaluate the custody-thing in the future. But for right now, I believe that giving Steffy full custody is for the good of the baby. It will also give you the chance to work on your marriage and find out if that really is what you want."

"I just don't know what to do."

"Tell me. If you do sign the shared custody papers, do you believe that the baby would be safe with Hope for a short period of time if, say, you and Hope had argued just before you left." Liam shakes his head. "If you sign the papers giving Steffy full custody, do you believe that Steffy would take the child and leave and you never getting to see the baby?" Liam shakes his head. "Which one of the womens situations do you trust the most? Hope with the baby or Steffy not leaving?"

"Steffy taking the baby and leaving would never happen. She wouldn't do that to me no matter how angry or hurt she was with me. I trust Hope, I really do, but Steffy is such a big trigger for her that I don't know if I could trust her with the baby." There's such sadness in Liam´s eyes that Bill almost grows soft.

"Putting your trust in Steffy is your best bet from my point of view. You need to do the best for all of the people involved and right now, giving Steffy full custody is the best you can do. Unless you divorce Hope, marry Steffy and bring that baby into the world in a marriage, however, Steffy doesn't want you so that would probably be difficult and the baby is due in three weeks or so."

Liam knows his father is right in what he's saying and he knows that he really can trust Steffy to not leave once the custody thing is over with. There's so much tying Steffy to LA that he just doesn't feel like she'd just leave for good. She could leave for Paris to visit her mother and father, or for New York to visit Bridget for a while, but she would always come back to LA.

"I'm going to go talk to Steffy I think about the custody in the future business."

"Yeah, I think you should. Talk to Justin and have him draw up an altered version of the second set of papers and bring it with you!" Bill dismisses his son and sends him on his way.

~Things happen~

In Paris it's almost time for the clock to strike midnight and as such, Taylor turns in her sleep into the man laying next to her and both of them give a content sigh as she melts into his arms as she's done hundreds of times before.

~Things happen~

 **AN:**

 **Ooooh, cliffhanger! Who do you think that man is?**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN:**

 **I do not own a single thing.**

 **I got a review last chapter that said that they hoped this was a Steam-fic because they could read through anything if Steam was endgame, but they wouldn't read anything where Still or Statt was endgame. This is a Steffy centric-fic and neither of the Spencer boys/men will be in her life as a romantic option, remember what Steffy said while she talked to Stephanie, Steffy´s love life is on hold until she feels it time to bring it forth again, I don't know when that will be, but until then and after, there will be no romantic feelings from Steffy towards any of the Spencer-boys.**

Things happen

 **Chapter four**

When Thomas, Steffy and Michala returned home from paint shopping, they were met by Liam waiting for them by the door into Steffy´s apartment.

When he sees what they have with him, he gives the papers to Steffy and helps Thomas carry the heavy paint containers.

"Hi Liam!" Steffy looks him straight into his eyes.

"Hi Steffy!" He looks right back into her eyes, but he can't see anything in them anymore. "I need to talk to you about something."

"I figured, since you're here with some papers." She walks over to the door and unlocks it. She opens the door and Michala walks through it with the roll of floor covering. Thomas follows suit and Liam walks after Thomas and Michala into the baby´s room. He places everything on the floor and sees the boxes with the furniure on the floor. He's then shooed out of the room.

Michala and Thomas starts with the prep work and Liam walks back out into the livingroom to talk to Steffy.

"So, you wanted to talk to me about something." Steffy has made herself comfortable on the couch with a bunch of pillows placed in strategic places.

"Yes, my father and I had a talk a few hours ago and I have decided to sign the second set of papers, giving you full custody, but I have a thought about it. Could we re-evaluate the custody situation in a few years when the child is older and doesn't depend on you so much?" Liam is acting really shy.

"Of course we can. I was never asking you to give up the rights to the baby. You signing those papers has everything to do with me knowing that you want to be a father that is present in the child´s life. I never wanted to tear it away from you. If I wanted to do that, I would've stayed in Paris and raised the child there. This has never been about punishing you in any way, I really didn't care which set of papers you signed, I would've liked to share custody with you, but I also know that you probably have your reasons for signing the second set with the changes to them. I do wish you would've told me that you were getting married instead of me having to find out about it through a magazine anouncing your engagement though. I thought we were more then that." Steffy sends a small smile Liam´s way. "Can I read the papers before I sign them?"

Liam just nods his head. Steffy sets about reading the papers and she doesn't see anything that could bite her in the behind later and that Liam has already signed them.

"I'm going to talk to my lawyers about this and then I'll sign and we'll file after that. I really hope that you are happy where you are Liam. You need to take care of her now! We also need to make a schedule for when you want to see the baby. What you need to remember is that this is your time with the baby and you should never let Hope dictate when you can or can't see your child. I will be easying my way back to work three months after the baby is born for a few hours a week, I have it good in that I can take the baby with me to work if I want to and it should be quite the success. But you need to decide how much visitation you need, do not take Hope into concideration, because as I said, this is your time with your child. I will be there the first few times, after that you are on your own, but I will always be avaliable if you need me in any way."

"Sounds good to me. I think it might depend a little on how much work there is, dead lines and such, those kinds of things."

"Of course, there will also be times where I will need you to take the baby because I need to be somewhere that's workrelated and I can't take it with me. I will always give you a heads up that I will be leaving for a while just so that you can plan accordingly, but I will never just show up and hand the baby over to you and leave. If I need to leave in a hurry, Thomas will more then likely be used as baby sitter until I come back, he's already been talked to about this." As she's saying this Thomas comes out in search of something.

"What have I been talked to about?" He raises his eyebrows.

"If I need to leave quickly to do something for work and what happens to the baby."

"Ah, yes, that bit. In that case I will have the changing bag, apartment keys and baby dropped in my arms." Thomas nods his head.

"What are you looking for?" Then Thomas remembers why he was out there.

"A pair of scissors. We apparently forgot to bring those with us when we marched into the baby´s room!" Steffy gives a small chuckle and leans over the table in front of the couch, finds a pair and waves them in the air.

Thomas walks over and grabs them. "Thank you!"

"What do you want to eat for dinner? I was planning on ordering take out because I so don't want to make dinner." Steffy shouts after Thomas has almost made it to the door into the room that's to be painted.

He opens the door, letting a breeze through letting Steffy know that the windows are open, and asks Michala what she wants.

"Michala wants pizza!" Thomas leans back so that he can see Steffy while he's talking.

"Okej! I'll order some pizza in a few hours, it's been an exhausting day today so I need to take a little nap. Could you check on me a little in two hours or so?" She sees her brother nod his head at her before he once again walks through the door.

"Thank you for stopping by with the new papers and I'll let you know when they're filed. I just have one more question." She looks at him to make sure she has his attention. "Do you want to be there when the baby is born? I'd rather not have any Logan´s present, but if you and Bill would like to you are both welcome to be there. Mom and dad are flying out the Friday before my due date so that they're here when the baby comes."

"I'm pretty sure dad wants to be there and I'd love to be there myself. Do you have anymore appointments left before the birth?"

"I have an appointment next week just to check some blood work and stuff like that, not really anything fun to be there for." Steffy gives a smile. "But I have ultrasound pictures if you want to see them while you wait for the delivery."

"That would be nice!" So she gets up off the couch and walks over to the baby book laying on the sideboard.

She looks it over and finds what she's looking for.

"Here!" She hands a memorystick over to him. "You can keep that, there are just ultrasound pictures, some segments of the baby moving during the ultrasounds and some files that has the heart beat in it. I have one of my own. They're named after what date the ultrasound was, the latest ones being my doctors appointment in New York last week."

He gets up off the couch and then takes the memory stick, gives her a hug then he leaves after saying good bye.

~Things happen~

What her mother had said just before she left had caused Hope to think about her marriage. It had taken Liam almost three months to commit to her after Steffy left, five months after Steffy left Liam still hadn't asked Hope to marry him. When Hope had told him that she didn't believe him after Rick and Othello lied about seeing Steffy and Liam kissing the night before, Liam had fought tooth and nail for three weeks before he had given up, two weeks after that, he and Steffy were reconnecting, when the three month mark was crossed, Steffy was already living with Liam again and she had gotten pregnant with his baby.

Hope was strangely hurt that it had been so easy for Steffy and Liam to just fall back into the routine they had before they got divorced compared to the work she and Liam had to do every time they were together and the fact that they could never just enjoy being with each other. She thought she understood that relationships take work, but the role models she had had growing up really weren't that great.

Growing up in her mothers house, maybe she felt like reassurement was love and she felt like Liam didn't give her any of that and therefore, she had run every time things didn't go the way she wanted it to in her relationship with him. Then when she saw him be so tactile with Steffy, she felt like he had been keeping himself from her and keeping what she needed from him from her. The small touches that Steffy seemed to get anytime without even asking for them and he just gave without expecting anything back.

So she had decided that she needed to go talk to Liam and let him know what she needed from him and for him to tell her what he needed from her. So she packed up her suitcases again, loaded up the car and drove to the beach house to wait for Liam there.

~Things happen~

When he walked through the frontdoor of his house after leaving Steffy´s apartment, he saw that his wifes suitcases were back and that they were empty. He walks over to the guest bedroom and looks through the door.

"So, why are you back?"

"My mom said something that made me think about the reasons behind my actions during our relationship. I have realized what it is that I've been missing in this relationship and the way I came to that realization is that I looked at how you've behaved together with me versus how you behaved together with Steffy. What I need from you are those little touches of reassurance that you seemed to give Steffy without hesitation, the reassurance that you are actually with me in everything and that nothing else matters."

"Well, you know what I need in this relationship? I need to know that what we're it, that you feel like we're it, because at the moment, I don't feel that from you and if I don't feel it from you, why should I give you what you need when you won't give me what I need. I need to be absolutely sure that this marriage is something that you want because of the love we share, not because you want to win over Steffy and that's what I've felt ever since Steffy and I divorced."

He gives a big sigh.

"It's actually what I've felt ever since you and I made love for the first time before Steffy and I were even divorced. I need to feel that our love is more important to you than your hatred towards Steffy and your need to win over her. We need to be more important than Steffy and your actions yesterday and this morning tells me that we're not important to you. Because if we were, you wouldn't have had such a strong reaction to the custody papers that you had. For me to be sure enough in this realtionship to give those small touches and the reassurance you say you get from those touches, I need to feel that you are completely in this with me. Right now I don't and it's not my issues causing this divide in our relationship."

Hope nods her head.

"Yeah, I realize that I haven't been the most supportive or loving girlfriend, fiance or wife and I have taken the issues we've faced way to far and let my trust issues take the better of me. Have you decided yet?"

"I have actually, I talked to my father around lunch and he gave me a talking to about somethings and I realized that it's best for the baby if Steffy has full custody right now, so I've signed the second set of papers, but with a few added things. In a few years time we're going to reexamine the custody situation and start sharing know this, I did not sign those papers for you, I signed them for my baby! Giving us the chance to fix our relationship or what ever we decide to do, while the child is in a safe place. Steffy is going to talk to her lawyers and then sign the revised papers and then it'll be done for the time being. I asked her if there were any more doctor visits left and there is one, but it's a five minute blood test, a blood preasure test and a measurement of her belly and she felt like that wouldn't be the most fun to come to. She asked if I want to be with her in the deliveryroom and then told me that she doesn't want you or any of the Logan women there."

"Of course you're not going to be there for the delivery, I can't see any reasons for you to be there." She blurts out and when she looks his way, she can tell by the look on his face that it was the wrong thing to say.

"I'm sorry, what did you just say? This is the birth of my first child we're talking about. Really? You're going there **again**?" He holds his hands up in defeat. "You want me to miss the birth of my first child because you can't see any reason for me to be there? You know what? I'm starting to understand Steffy´s request that you not be there."

He then walks over to the kitchen and starts making dinner, not talking to her at all for the rest of the day and she realizes that she has more then likely stepped over a boundry that they may not come back from. But instead of running to her mother as her initial instinct told her to, she took her bags and placed them in the guest bedroom.

~Things happen~

 _August 18th 2013_

Eric Forrester had been asleep when his wife came home the night before after visiting their granddaughter and so he hadn't heard anything of what was going on. In fact he had not even learned of Steffy´s pregnancy yet.

He had never been involved in the Social Media part of the bussiness and he probably never would be. He liked to be informed face to face and he felt like Social Media was taking away the oportunity to meet people like you had to when he first started in the business. Now a days customers or their stylists reached out to them through Twitter describing what they needed for an event, a red carpet, a movie premiere or just a business party. Eric deeply missed the times where his clientel came for fittings and the final photo shoot for his personal album.

The dresses that were created specifically for someone was what he lived for now. Ridge had taken over designing the collections and Eric had moved on to special orders, but he knew that some time soon, he was going to have to let go of this part of the business as well, because he knew that there was something that wasn't quite right with him these days.

He and Stephanie had won her battle with cancer, but he had this sinking feeling that their fight wasn't over just yet and the tests results he would be getting this afternoon was going to determine his future. He knew that Stephanie could probably tell that he wasn't who he used to be. Walking up the stairs to their bedroom was taking his breath away and he was losing energy faster then he had before. He was calling a meeting on Monday to tell the family what was going on, hopefully he wouldn't be gone for long. Hopefully it was just his age making itself known, but he could feel it in his bones that it wasn't just as simple as that.

Stephanie started stirring beside him and when she opened her eyes she sees little teardrops falling lightly down her husbands cheeks.

"Hey, you'll be fine! Nothing to worry about!" He gives her a small smile and a kiss on her forehead.

"So, how's our granddaughter doing?" Stephanie´s eyes starts to sparkle.

"You need to talk to her yourself, she's got some news that I think will make you very happy!"

"Really? What might that be?" The curiosity evident in Eric´s voice.

"Just go see her. Tell you what, we'll go see her after we've been to the doctor." Stephanie get´s out of the bed and goes into the bathroom.

When she returns she's got a pair of pants and a blouse with her.

"You'd better go and get ready!"

Four hours later, they are standing outside of Steffy´s apartment and knocking on the door. The test results had showed them what he already knew to be true and the only thing in Stephanie´s mind that could potentially cheer him up was meeting Steffy and letting her show him her news.

The woman who comes to open the door however is not their granddaughter.

"Hi Mrs Forrester! Mr Forrester!" Michala can see that there is something going on with them. "I take it you're here to see Steffy?"

She turns to Stephanie to ask a silent question to which Stephanie shakes her head in response, Michala nods her head.

"Steffy!" Michala calls out.

"Yeah? Who was at the door?"

"Your grandparents!"

"Ooh, granddads here?" At the positive response Michala gives her, Steffy walks out of the baby´s room where she's been checking out the mural Thomas has started on.

Just as she turns the corner dividing the hallway from the kitchen, a big gasp is heard and the look on Eric´s face when he sees her belly is priceless. All the worries left his face as surprise took him over and then the surprise was replaced with joy.

"You're pregnant! How did that happen? No, of course I know how that happens. But you weren't pregnant when you left!" Eric then sees the guilt on Steffy´s face. "You were? Did you know?"

"Yes, I found out about two hours before the plane took off." Steffy tilts her head a little.

"Why am I only finding out about this now? Does Liam know? If so, when did he find out?"

"I chose to keep it to myself for as long as I could, the office in Paris found out pretty soon, mom knew when she left for Paris two months after me because she found the test I took. Dad could see it on my face that there was something going on the moment I came to Paris when he picked me up at the airport. Liam found out yesterday when Thomas posted a picture on Instagram."

"Why didn't Liam know before yesteday?" Eric is confused so Stephanie steps in.

"Well, you know, it's hard finding out that your boyfriend is marrying another woman by looking at a magazine cover. Steffy stayed in Paris because she knew that LA would be way to stressfull for the pregnancy and in doing so, Liam deemed their relationship not important enough to warrant a phone call to tell Steffy that he was going to ask another woman to marry him. Steffy made the right choice in staying in Paris. Liam made the wrong choice when he decided that their relationship wasn't important enough to him. Has he signed the papers yet?" She turns from her husband to her granddaughter at the question.

"He has signed the papers. The second set with a few additions. Bill apparently made some good points and gave a few suggestions that lead to him adding that we will reexamine the custody agreement in a few years. I have full custody now and then in a few years, we'll look at our situation and see if shared custody is a possibillity. But as it stands today I will have full custody of the baby. When it comes to big decisions Liam will be involved, but the day to day is all me." Stephanie approves. Then Eric asks the big question.

"Why didn't you tell Liam about the baby before you left?" Once again, someone else answers for her.

"Because catching him and Hope making out on their bed through the window only an hour before take off was a subject she didn't want to handle right then." Eric just nods his head at Michala´s explanation.

Steffy reaches out her hand to her grandfather and he takes it, she turns it over and places it on her belly. The baby had been very active all day and it was a welcome feeling, on the trip from Paris it hadn't been and it had made her a little worried, but the moment she stepped off the train the baby had been kicking up a storm in her belly with only a few periods of time where it was sleeping.

"Hey!" Thomas exclaims and everyone including Steffy looks at him with a question on their faces. "Do you know what you're having? Boy or girl?"

Steffy gives a big smile.

"No, I don't. I mean, it's in my file, but I have no idea. There's this feeling in my gut that it's a girl though, but I haven't dared finding out before hand. I think I might have decided to keep it as a surprise so that Liam finds out something about the baby at the same time I do."

"If it was unintentional so that Liam could find out at the same time you do that's a good idea." Everyone agreed with Stephanie´s statement.

"So, how long until the baby comes?" Eric moves the subject back to the baby.

"I'm 37 weeks and 5 days, so about 2 more weeks. I'll come back to work for a few hours some days during the week when the baby is about four months, I'll be bringing the baby to work with me because I know I'm a bit of a workaholic and having the baby somewhere else would not be a good idea, not for me or the baby." Steffy sends off a smile and then she notices that her granddad isn't quite as alert as he used to be. "What's wrong?"

"What do you mean?" Thomas questions his sister.

"Well, look at him. Where's all the strenght gone? He's changed so much since I saw him last. He's lost a ton of weight and the spark in his eyes isn't there anymore." This statement causes Thomas to really look at Eric. Since he had stayed in LA, he hadn't seen the changes happen, but when he looks at him now, he can see everything his sister has pointed out.

Eric turns his head towards his wife.

"We came straight here from the doctors office. Eric will have a meeting at the company on Monday." Stephanie sighs.

~Things happen~

Wyatt Fuller had been following Forrester Creations Instagram for two years now because it gave his mothers company an edge in the industry as she then could design pieces that would look good with the designs that Forrester Creations came out with. It's also the way he found out that his halfbrother´s wife´s ex stepsister was back in LA and that she was pregnant. With his halfbrothers baby.

He had listened to Hope complain about Steffy for months now and he figured he should form an opinion about the woman on his own before joining in and the woman he'd been told about didn't really match up with what had been happening since she came back. According to Hope, Steffy would've been reminicing about the past with Liam on his couch by now and especially now that there's a baby coming. It just didn't match up at all and so he thought that maybe Steffy wasn't at all what Hope had been saying she was. It was actually more and more matching up to what Liam, Bill and Thomas had been saying about her. Sure, Liam and Steffy getting married in Aspen had been a manipulation, but Liam didn't have to marry Steffy especially if he still wanted to marry Hope after she left the ring on the mantle.

He figured there was only one way to find out and that way was to go see Steffy himself. So here he was, standing outside an apartment that had been bought as a love nest for Steffy and Bill. He knocks on the door and a woman opens up.

"Hi!" He gives a smile.

"Hi! Who are you?" The woman looks at him sceptically.

"I'm Wyatt Fuller, Liam´s big brother. I was wondering if Steffy was home?"

"If you are here to tell her to stay away from Liam, you're not welcome, if you are here to get to know the woman carrying your brother´s baby, come on in. We're about to start dinner." The woman opens the door a little more to let him in.

He follows her into the kitchen where Steffy is currently cutting up tomatoes for the burgers. Steffy looks up and is caught in a pair of brown eyes and a shy smile. Steffy raises her eyebrows as she turns to Michala.

"This is Wyatt Fuller. Liam´s big brother. He came to see you." Michala smiles.

"Okej. Can you help with dinner?" Steffy directs the question to Wyatt.

"Sure, what can I do?"

"Michala is going to set the table. Could you fry up the tomato slizes that are thicker then the others on the stove? Michala is more vegetarian then meat eater and she wanted tomatoes as her burgers today. The frying pan is already heating up. Just mix some flour with salt, pepper, basil and paprika then you dip the slizes in it and then place them in the pan and get some color on them and they should be good. Thomas is outside taking care of the grill. I'm just going to cut up the red onion and then we should be done." Steffy instructs and Wyatt goes to work.

Five minutes later, Thomas walks through the door to the balcony and it's time to eat.

Michala bites through her 'burger'.

"What have you done with these? It's amazing."

"I did what Steffy told me to do." Wyatt just shrugs his shoulders.

There's a knock on the door and Michala goes to answer it.

"Hello Mr Spencer! How are you doing?" There's joy in Michala´s voice as she's talking to Bill.

"Hello Ms James! I'm good, how about you?" The joy replicating in Bill´s voice.

"Well, yesterday started off with an assault, but after that it got better!"

"I'm sorry what?" Bill pulls back in surprise.

"Well, a certain Ms Brooke Logan thought that showing up here and slapping Steffy was a good way to start the day. Thankfully I'm the one who got slapped and Steffy stayed sleeping. Ms Logan got the riot act told and she was not happy when I threatened to call the police on her if she didn't leave. I think she had a lot to talk to her daughter about when she left. Liam came over and talked to Steffy for a bit while Thomas and I painted the baby´s room and then today Mr and Mrs Forrester came over for a bit and they had some not pleasant news and now we're eating dinner together with your son."

"What? Brooke thought it would be okej for her to slap a pregnant woman? If so I must say thank you for opening the door in Steffy´s place." Then the last statement register. "Is Liam here? I thought he had gone home to talk to Hope."

"Well, Steffy was still sleeping and I had no intention of waking her up before she woke up , Liam hasn't been back since he left yesterday, but Wyatt is here. He came by to spend time with the mother of his brothers baby. They seem to be getting along really well." Michala says with a secretive smile on her lips.

"Oh, he is? Goody!" Bill seems happy about it.

So they walk into the kitchen area and sees the two siblings and Wyatt in a heated discussion in regards to wether Cinderella, Snow White or Sleeping beauty is the best Disney movie ever made.

Bill gives a laugh and Michala laughs with him. Then Bill thinks to himself, maybe it's not to late to have Steffy as a part of the family aside from her role as the mother of his grandchild.

Steffy looks over at her baby´s grandfather.

"Good evening Bill! How are you?" She gets up from the chair and walks over to give Bill a hug. He kisses the top of her head in respons.

"I'm good. Michala told me that Liam stopped by. How did that go?" Bill gives her an extra hug before letting her go.

"It went fine, he's already signed the papers, I just need to talk to my lawyers about them and then it should be fine. I would have brought up him receiving shared custody in a few years had he signed over full custody to me either way so it didn't bother me one bit that he added that as a clause. What was these points that you made for him to choose to give me full custody?"

"I asked him who he trusted more. You not leaving and taking the child with you in case you got full custody or Hope in the event that she had to care for the child in case Liam gets called in during an argument. The option that was closer to the one he trusted the most is the option he chose."

Wyatt huffs. "Are you saying that Hope could potentially hurt the baby if she was placed in a position where she has to care for the child?"

Both Bill and Steffy nods their heads in sadness.

"That really doesn't sound like the Hope I've come to know her as."

"Have you ever been around Hope when I've been around?" Wyatt shakes his head. "When ever I'm around, she gets violent and I really don't want to find out how she'd react if she had to take care of Liam´s first born child with another woman after they have argued. I really don't. I've never been the issue in their relationship, I may have brought it to the surface, but I as a person is not the issue. She doesn't trust him or their love for each other, otherwise they would've been married years ago. Her not trusting in their love is the reason this baby is growing in my belly." Steffy explains.

Bill, Thomas and Michala all nod at this statement causing worry to spread across Wyatt´s face. He really didn't think that Hope could be extreme to the point where Steffy would not think her child would be safe in the presence of Hope, but on the other hand, if three other people thought the same, out of which one was the girls father in law and one was the girls ex-boyfriend as well as her ex step brother, maybe there was truth to the statement. He'd just have to see what happens when they're around each other.

~Things happen~

The next few weeks were spent washing baby clothes, putting together furniture, spending precious time with Eric before the earth reclaims him, he had been given a year and spending time with family was at the top of his wish list.

He had talked to his lawyers about dividing up his shares and they had decided that Bridget and Rick would share the twelve and a half percent that were left. Giving eight percent to Rick and four and a half to Bridget, giving Rick more as he was involved in the company and Bridget had found a career outside of the family company. Some people might think that that divide would cause a divide within the family or atleast between Rick and Bridget, but they had both been either at the meeting or if they couldn't be because of living out of state and they both agreed that it was a good split between them. Yes, Kristen, Thorne and Felicia were going to get a bigger percentage then both Rick and Bridget, but they were all three children of the founders of the company and that held some merit.

~Things happen~

A week before her due date, Steffy started feeling contractions, they weren't strong or close, but they were noticable. Two days after the first contraction came, they were gaining strength and were coming closer together leading Steffy to think that she was going into labor, so she tells Michala and she in turn tells Thomas and Liam.

She works through them as much as she can while still being home, but when the contractions start to flow into each other, she decides that it's time to go to the hospital, just to be sure that if something were to happen, she'd have people around her that knew what to do.

Twenty minutes after she arrived at the hospital just after the clock struck 0:04 am on Thursday September fifth 2013, as she holds Thomas and Liam´s hands in hers, her and Liam´s baby was born, 20 inches tall and seven and half pounds light.

Looking into those baby blues that reminded her so much of her mothers eyes she once again falls in love with a Spencer.

~Things happen~

They don't notice when Thomas leaves the room to call their parents, all they see is this tiny little baby laying in Steffy´s arms with it's hands tucked under it's chin.

Outside in the hallway though, Thomas has just hung up the phone with Bill and is about to call his mother. They had decided not to tell any of the grandparents before the baby was born when the contractions started.

It takes her a few rings to answer.

"Hi Thomas! How are things on the other side of the Atlantic?" There's a smile in his mothers voice.

"Well, we've got someone who needs to be introduced to you and dad , so if you'd come on a plane across the same Atlantic, maybe you can see how things are over here?" Thomas says with a chuckle.

"Are you serious? The baby is here?" Thomas gives a positive respond to both questions. "When? How long did it take?"

"Just about twenty minutes ago, I slipped out from the room to give them some time to bond with the baby and Steffy has been feeling contractions for the last two days, but yesterday around noon, they started to become stronger and closer together, she stayed home until about a little over an hour ago and then we came to the hospital and were here for twenty minutes and then the baby came out. Twenty inches tall and seven and a half pounds light." The pride is shining through everything he says.

"So, is it a boy or a girl?" Taylor asks.

"I think you'll have to come to LA to find that out!" Thomas says with a little mystery in his voice.

"We'll try to change the tickets so that we leave today then. Have you talked to your father yet?"

"No, I just hung up with Bill to let him know the baby was here. I was going to call him after I hang up with you."

"Okej. You do that. Tell Steffy and Liam congratulations from me and that I'll see her in however many hours."

"Sure mom, I'll do that!" They then talk a little bit more and then hang up.

He decides to check on Steffy, Liam and the baby before calling his father. When he comes into the room, he sees that the baby is sleeping and Steffy holds her hand out for him to come to her. So he walks over and gives his sister a hug over the baby and then silently high fives Liam and then looks at the baby.

~Things happen~

 **AN:**

 **So, is it a boy or a girl? What do you think?**


	5. Chapter 5

**AN:**

 **As always I do not own anything that has to do with the show! I also have no idea how long it takes to fly from Paris to LA, with layovers and all of that, I'm also not a therapist or a psychologist so if anything is wrong in that part of the chapter, that's all me!**

 **So, we're about to find out if Steam´s baby is a girl or a boy, what Hope has been doing while Liam was with Steffy at the hospital and some other things.**

 **I got a review for the AN-posting I did with the first two paragraphs of this chapter which said that they felt I was on the defensive and that I couldn't focus on anything else other then my vision and I didn't see that other people might not like it. I know that not everyone is going to like this story, that's a given, but it IS my story and my vision and I'm not writing this for anyone other then myself, me posting this is because I felt it was good enough for other people to read it! If you don't like it, I'm not forcing you to read it. I chose to not let it get posted because I felt like it was directed towards me personally the most, not towards the story and there was no need for the people reading the story to read it. **

**If you start reading a paragraph that contains people you don't like, like say Liam and Hope while they're talking about something, skip to the next one, you might miss some important stuff, but pretty much everything I write about get´s brought up between other characters later. I divide up my chapters into paragraphs because it makes it easier for people to read and know when the focus of the writing changes.**

 **I'd like to thank the people who come back every chapter and reads what's going on, there are quite a lot of you actually, some even reads the same chapter more then once. Hugs to you all!**

 **Just one more thing. This is a story about the characters of the Bold and the Beautiful with a slight indepth focus on Steffy and her baby, but I can't just write how ever many chapters just on Steffy and the baby, because that would be boring in the end, so there is a SL for Wyatt coming, Kill are getting a SL that begins at the end of this chapter, beginning of the next. Donna is getting a SL. Steric already has their SL, Taylor´s SL is in the works. I am filling this story with TONs of other characters, not just Steffy, Liam, Thomas, Michala and Hope.**

 **I don't know yet if Lope will end their marriage or if they will become stronger then before. It all depends on something that begins to happen in this chapter, what I do know is that although the connection is still there as well as the bond between the two, Steam will not be a couple in this story.**

 **I don't know what's going to happen with Brooke yet. LA, Paris or New York is in the cards, but if she stays in LA, I don't know what to do with her.**

Things happen

 **Chapter five**

 _September 5th 2013_

 _Paris_

When her son called her to tell her that the baby had been born, her heart had soared because she knew that for the last week or so, Steffy had been so uncomfortable and she had grown tired of being pregnant and wanted the baby to be born. During the last two days, she had heard Steffy moan from time to time while talking to her and she had had a feeling that it was probably time real soon, but she really didn't think it would happen so soon, she thought Ridge and her would have time to cross the Atlantic before their first grandchild would see the world for the first time. But no such luck it seems.

Fifteen minutes after she hung up with her son, a phone rang once again and the man it belonged to answered it.

~Things happen~

 _Los Angeles_

 _8:05 am_

When Hope went to bed the day before, she could tell that Liam was nervous about something and it worried her.

They had finally reached a place where both of them were content in and commited to their marriage, there was still stuff to work on but they were working on them, she of course had the most to work on and it was a work in progress.

When she woke up, Liam wasn't home and she hadn't heard him leave either so now she was worried, the worry increased even more when he wouldn't answer his phone. So, she called her mother and an hour after her mother arrived, Liam walks through the front door with a stupid grin on his face causing realization to dawn on both Brooke and Hope´s faces.

" _The baby´s here!"_ Hope lets out breathlessly.

~Things happen~

 _Somewhere over the Atlantic._

They had managed to change their plane tickets and were now about a third of the way to LA and the joy displayed on their faces made the both of them glow. Finding out that her first grandchild had been born had actually made her even more beautiful then before and he felt even prouder then before that he had chosen her over any other woman. That he had once again placed a ring on her finger was a choice he was even more proud of.

He had presented it to her just after he hung up the phone after talking to his son and finding out that his first grandchild had been born. The resounding 'Yes' that had spilled out of her perfect lips was the best sound he had heard since his youngest son had drawn his first breath 12 years ago. Which had been an adventure in itself. Not knowing that he was in fact his son and not his nephew, the joy he felt when he found out that he and Brooke had actually had their first child together after all the times they'd been together before and lost the child she had carried had been enormous, but it had been tainted with everything that had happened after, this time his joy had been amplified through finding out that Steffy had her baby and now they were on a plane on the way back to LA to celebrate the birth of their first grandchild.

"Well, don't you two look happy!" The lady in the seat next to them across the aisle says with a smile on her face.

Taylor shows off her engagement ring and follows it up saying that their first grandchild was born today.

"Well, congratulations! Will you be getting married soon?" She motions to shake their hands.

"Well, I'm thinking we should let our daughter get into a routine with the baby before we get married, we're thinking about moving back to LA as well." Ridge says.

"We are?" Taylor looks surprised and then she understands the meaning behind Ridge´s words. "Yes, we are."

Her face breaks into a big smile and then she leans over to kiss him.

~Things happen~

Silent tears flowed down Hope´s face, she didn't think it would hurt this much to loose the chance to give Liam his first born child, but it ripped at her heart even more then seeing Steffy and Liam kissing in the car the day before Liam and her wedding, it even hurt more then watching Liam and Steffy get married on that mountain top in Aspen. Knowing that Steffy had something that was so precious to Liam was breaking her heart.

She'd been the happiest she's ever been when she found out that Steffy had signed the papers, then she remembered the additions that Liam had written on it and she had lost some of the joy she had felt before remembering.

That stupid grin that grazed Liam´s face when he entered the house this morning had broken her heart even more and she decided to go for a walk on the beach to clear her head and sort through some emotions that were clouding her thoughts after her mother had left half an hour after Liam walked through the door.

He hadn't even told her yet if it was a boy or a girl, in fact, he had just walked into the bedroom and gone to bed not even acknowledging her in any way and right now she couldn't even look at him, so she took off to the beach after telling her mother that she'd be fine, she just needed to be alone right now and it took some pushing for Brooke to leave the house, but almost the minute she left, Hope was out the door and on her way to the beach.

She had always loved walking on the beach by Liam´s house when they were dating and now weren't an exception. Before Steffy had come back from Paris and Thomas revealing that she was pregnant to the world she had used strolls on the beach as a way to disconnect herself from her work and it always helped her get her focus back on what was important, so, she sits down, digs her toes into the sand, plugs in her headphones and watches the waves crash in on the beach line, as her favorite song plays silently in the background, feeling the calm gently wash over her.

~Things happen~

 _Friday September 6_ _th_

 _Los Angeles, 3:22 pm_

Steffy and the baby stayed in the hospital for a full thirty nine hours, just to make sure that the baby was doing okej since it was born a little earlier then the expected due date, but it turned out that the baby didn't need any interventions from the hospital staff, Steffy´s milk came in almost instantly and the baby latched on like a baby should.

As they were leaving, the elevator doors opened up and out came her parents.

"Mom! Dad! You came!" She reaches up after Thomas takes the carseat with the baby in it. Taylor and Ridge walks over and gives her a big hug.

"Of course we did, a little earlier then expected, but we're here now." Taylor explains. "And who is this little sweetie then?"

Taylor looks over to the carseat in her sons hand.

"This is baby Forrester-Spencer, first name still unknown!" Thomas introduces the little baby to it's grandparents.

"So?" Taylor raises her eyebrows as she watches her daughter with curiosity in her eyes.

"It's a girl!" Steffy says as her eyes light up as the smile on her mouth works it's way up her face. Then she notices the ring on her mothers finger and the smile turns into shock and then she turns to her father to see the smile on his face. "So, you two got anything to tell me? Tell us?"

"I have no idea what you're talking about." Taylor looks totally oblivious.

"Fine, I'll just keep the name of my baby from you then." Steffy raises her eyebrows.

"Why would you do that? I'll just get it from Thomas when he finds out." Taylor places her hands on her hips.

"Well, if my mother won't tell me she's getting married, why should I tell her the name of her grandchild?"

"How on earth do you know about that?" Taylor is stunned.

"Well, the ring on your finger and my fathers nod to my silent question a few minutes ago spoiled your big surprise. But hey! Atleast you get to spend time with your grandchild, Liam´s mom won't be able to." This comment does the trick because Steffy knows that the one thing that her mother wanted more then anything was to watch her children grow up and since she wouldn't be able to do so, watching her grandchildren grow up was the next best thing.

"Yeah, I'm getting married." Taylor admits.

"To who?" Thomas asks.

"Me!" Ridge exclaims to the surprise of his son. He already knew his daughter had caught on.

"Oh! Grandma is going to be so happy!" Thomas says with a big smile on his face.

Then the four of them start laughing, but after a little while, seriousness enters Steffy´s mind.

"Have you heard about granddad?" She says with tears in her voice.

"Yeah, it's one of the reasons we're coming back. That he'll need us for our support and for the company." Taylor tells her children as they walk back towards the elevator to take the baby home.

"Has Bill and Katie been by to see you and the baby yet?" Ridge throws the question out there.

"Katie has kept her distance, Bill came within the hour of Thomas calling him after the baby was born. I really wasn't expecting Katie to come see us either way so that's fine. It's actually been very Logan free most of the time. The only Logan who's been by is Will and I was cool with that as he's the baby´s uncle. I thought it was really cute looking at him be amazed by this little girl in his brothers arms."

"So Liam has been here a lot?" Ridge questions.

"He's been here to see us yesterday evening for an hour or so and he was here when she was born. I wasn't expecting to stay as long as I did. She wasn't even born that early. But hey, it's better to be safe then sorry right?" Steffy looks up from the wheelchair as they ride down in the elevator.

"It sure is honey, especially with something so precious!" Taylor smiles at her as she looks down as she's talking to her daughter, Steffy gives her a smile back.

~Things happen~

 _September 15th 2013 1:32 am_

 _LA_

The next week was spent getting into a routine for Steffy and the little baby girl. As expected, she lost a little weight the first few days after she had been brought home, but she also gained it all back within the week.

Michala had decided to stay just a little while longer to help Steffy with getting into a routine, also known as babysitting while Steffy took a shower or a thirty minute nap.

Steffy and Liam still hadn't figured out what their daughter´s name was going to be, because they couldn't name her William after her grandfather, father and uncle and so it was a difficult task to figure out what to name their sweet little girl. At first they thought about naming the baby after both their maternal grandmothers, but Sharon Kathrine just didn't sit well with either of them, neither did Kathrine Sharon. So they thought about using her maternal grandmothers name and his paternal grandmothers name and those clashed even worse, Sharon Elsie or Elsie Sharon both sounded like a first and last name. They had played with using the baby's grandmothers names as the baby´s name, Kelly Taylor or Taylor Kelly, but once again, it sounded like a full name for the baby and adding Forrester-Spencer sounded way to pretentious.

So, here they are, the baby one week old and still no first name and Baby girl Forrester-Spencer just didn't sit right anymore.

At the moment it's 1:32 am and Steffy is feeding the baby while looking at the mural that her brother had painted for the baby, humming a song she couldn't remember the words to and it dawns on her. She sends a text to Liam to see if he approves, but she knows he won't answer right away so she takes the moment to enjoy having this little girl in her arms and be thankfull that her daughter was such an easy baby to care for. She had learned all the cries her baby made almost instantly and she had figured out how to avoid them through writing everything that happens during the day in a notebook.

She noticed that the baby had fallen asleep and gently transitioned her back into the crib, which was a blessing that her daughter was such an easy sleeper. She had thought that the baby would be sleeping in her room the first few months, but she had tried having the baby sleep in the crib that first night they were home and it had continued that way since.

~Things happen~

The news of Ridge and Taylor´s engagement had spread like wildfire and a certain Logan was not happy about it, she also didn't hesitate to display that unhappiness whenever Ridge or Taylor were close and she was even worse when Katie or Donna was close because she was so sure that when Ridge returned to LA, he was coming back to her, he was coming back for her. She just couldn't see him returning for any other reason and especially not because his daughter had her baby. There just was no other way, so seeing Ridge being affectionate with Taylor in front of her really grated her nerves.

Stephanie on the other hand was thrilled that Ridge had decided to spend the rest of his life with Taylor and she found it hilarious that Brooke was acting the way she was. It was a light in her very dark tunnel that she'd cling to until the day that tunnel collapsed around her.

~Things happen~

 _September 15th_

She had heard the beep of her husbands phone early that morning and she knew there was only one person out there that would send her husband texts that early in the morning and because she knew that, jealousy came creeping into her mind and she just had to know what the text said, so she took the phone and pressed the homebutton.

" _ **Kelleigh (Kelly) Taylor Forrester-Spencer, sounds good right?"** from Steffy._

" _That's a beautiful name."_ Hope whispers before she gives a big sigh of defeat. "And so Steffy trying to lure her way into Liam´s heart again, why can't she just admitt defeat and realize that Liam wants me and only me."

Liam can hear Hope muttering about Steffy as he wakes up and decides to listen to what she's says.

"Why can't she just let go? There is no way that baby is Liam´s and I can't believe Liam believes it is." He can hear the anger creep into her voice so he decides to make it known he's awake.

"Well, I believe that baby is my daughter because she looks like a perfect blend of me and Steffy and you would know that had you even made the slightest effort to see the baby!" There's a harshness in Liam´s voice that Hope isn't used to.

"Why on earth should I go and see that baby? It's not any of my business. She's not my concern!" Hope bites.

"Because she's your stepdaughter and if you can't even see her, how do you think I feel about letting you get pregnant with my baby?"Hope gasps and goes to respond, but Liam cuts her off. "She's my daughter, how can I trust that you will even love the children we're going have if you can't even love a child that's half mine? Are you only going to love them because they're yours or are you going to love them because they are ours? Is your hatred towards Steffy really that strong that it trumps your love towards me? If so I truly do not think we should even be in this marriage."

He can see the tears forming in Hope´s eyes.

"You know what? Those tears aren't even affecting me right now, my priorities are towards my daughter at the moment and if you can't even see that there's where they need to be right now, I really don't see how this big awakening you had a week ago has made your feelings towards Steffy any less hateful."

"She's given you the one thing I wanted to give you more then anything! Your first born!"

"Yeah, well, that baby could have been yours and mine had you decided that I was telling the truth when Othello told that lie of his. You just remember that."

During the time they had been arguing, Liam has dressed himself and now he walked out of the bedroom and slammed the door behind him and Hope is thoroughly confused as to what just happened.

Five minutes later, Liam comes back into the bedroom, glares at her. "Give me my phone and don't you dare look at it without my permission ever again."

She hands it over.

"I'm going to work. Maybe you should go see a shrink or something, because sooner or later you will prove my suspicions right if you don't."

"And what exactly are those?"

"That you only married me to win one over Steffy!" He slowly walks backwards and then turns when he reaches the door, then some seconds later, she hears the door slamming.

~Things happen~

The hard clinks on the keyboard in the office on the other side of the hallway alerts Bill that his son isn't very happy, but as it had worked wonders the first time he tried it a few weeks ago, Bill chooses to let his son cool down and come to him when he feels he needs his advice.

Then there's a ding on his phone alerting him to a new post on Twitter and he takes a look.

What he sees is an announcement on Steffy´s feed.

" _Kelleigh 'Kelly' Taylor Forrester-Spencer, She finally has a name everyone!"_

Then another ding allerts him to a post on Instagram and there's a photo of a sleeping baby. Twitter then alerts him that someone has posted a reply.

" _Daddy´s pride and joy!"_

This places a smile on Bill´s face, he's always known that Steffy was the one who always knew how to make Liam smile and he knew that now that Kelleigh was in the world, she would take her mothers place as head smile-bringer for her father. Because the hard keyboard clinks had stopped, Bill knew that Liam was admiring the picture of his baby girl.

So he posts a reply as well.

" _Granddad´s best girl ever!"_

Which in turn gets a reply from Ridge.

" _Well, that's cause you don't have a daughter! ;-)"_

" _Haha! That's true!"_

" _Sure is!"_

" _Hey! Congratulations man!"_

" _Thank you! Best decision ever!"_

" _;-)"_

They weren't really sure how it had happened, but over this last week, there had been a shift in Ridge and Bill´s relationship, maybe it was the fact that their children had had a baby together or the fact that Ridge was marrying Taylor, but the competition that had been there before weren't there anymore.

Maybe this little girl was a peace bringer to the family.

What Bill did know though was that Steffy would never say yes to marrying Liam ever again, that part of her life was over period and Bill had accepted that whole heartedly, he had also accepted that Wyatt wasn't his chance to get Steffy back into daughter in law status, the only Spencer Steffy truly loved with her whole heart anymore was her daughter.

~Things happen~

Hope just couldn't help herself and she looked at the picture that Steffy had posted on Instagram, as a result, her heart broke a little bit more and she realized that she needed to do exactly what Liam had told her that morning. She also realized that there was no way that baby wasn't Liam´s daughter, but she didn't really want to believe it.

So she did her research and found a therapist that could help her the best in her opinion. The one her mother had taken her to that prescribed her those pills hadn't been that good and visiting her had only damaged her more.

So she makes a call and due to a cancellation, she gets an appointment just a few hours later.

~Things happen~

She's sitting in the waitingroom bouncing her left leg up and down nervously waiting for the therapist to come out the door of her office. It takes about five more minutes then she's sitting in a chair in the office decorated with an abundance of colors. It's not what she was expecting from a therapists office, but it made her feel more relaxed.

"So, how may I help you?"

"Well, I have a problem accepting that my husband has had a baby with another woman about a week ago and my feelings about it is that he shouldn't have any contact with the baby at all because the other woman would just use that contact to get him back."

"Okej, so let's work on why you feel like he shouldn't have any contact with the baby. Tell me, if that woman had been anyone else, would you feel the same?" The woman behind the desk looks at Hope with genuine intrest in her eyes.

"Of course, the woman, who ever she is, has taken the one thing I wanted to give my husband."

"And what is that?"

"His first born child."

"So you don't want to give your husband your love or devotion? You don't want to give him a happy home? You just wanted to give him his first born child. Well, you didn't have to marry him to do that. So why did you marry him?"

"I married him because I love him and because of that love, I wanted to give him his first born child. We thought we lost that early on in our relationship when another woman claimed she was pregnant by him, but that turned out to be a lie and she was actually pregnant with my cousins baby. But we didn't find that out until the baby was born. Then some stuff happened and now my former stepsister has the one thing I wanted to give to my husband."

"Okej, so, were you and your husband married when the baby was concieved?"

"No, but we were supposed to be. We were lied to by my brother and a friend of his just as we were about to get married and I called off the wedding because of it."

"What did your fiance say when you called off the wedding?"

"He said they were lying, he hadn't done what they said he had and that I should believe him."

"Why didn't you?"

"Because I knew in my heart that he had done it, because that's who she is."

"What did you do when you found out it was a lie?"

"I went to his house and told him that I should have believed him and that this was our second chance, then we made out on his bed."

"Okej, now, is that the whole truth? Because I can see by your body language that you're not telling me everything."

"No, it's not. I may have taken all of his current girlfriends stuff out of the dresser and closet and put them on the bed we made out on."

"When did you find out that the lie was a lie?"

"A little over three months after the wedding was cancelled."

"And he was living with someone else by then?"

"Yes, the same woman who now is the mother of my husbands first child." Hope sighs. "Who also happens to be my husbands first wife."

"Okej, where they married when the baby was concieved?"

"No, they had been divorced for a while when the baby was concieved."

"Okej. Where they married when you and him first met?"

"No, he and I met, fell in love and wanted to get married. Then she takes an interest in him and tries to lure him away from me. My last straw was watching him kiss her in the car the night before our wedding, so I left him. Forty eight hours later, they are married in Aspen and I thought I had lost him forever."

"But you didn't loose him. You gave him away. There's a difference. You dumped him and he was then free to do what ever he wanted and he chose to marry another woman."

"But he was supposed to marry me. There was no way that he loved her as much as he loves me."

"But you chose to leave him and he then chose to marry someone else based on your decision to dump him. Has he ever explained what that kiss was about?"

"He claims it was her saying good bye to him and good luck on your marriage. But he kissed her back and if you're engaged, you shouldn't be kissing another woman and I know she did that because she knew I was watching."

"Oh, so you were living together?"

"No, I had moved in that evening. It was a surprise."

"Did she know you would be there? If she didn't know you were there, did she see you?"

"No, she didn't know I was there and as far as I know, she didn't see me."

"So, neither of them knew you were there? And you didn't stay behind and confront him about it?"

"No!"

"Why would you think that she knew you were watching then?"

"Because I just do, it's what she does!"

"Okej, now the first session I have with a new client is always half an hour long and our time is up, but if you want to come back, you can schedule an appointment at the front desk. I really wish you'd come back, because it seems like we have a lot to talk about. I do have something for you to think about though."

"Okej." Hope is a little bit scared.

"I want you to think about where you think these thoughts comes from and every time you feel like this woman is taking to much of your husbands time, I'm not talking about the baby, you should write down what you're feeling at the time. Can you do that for me?"

Hope nods her head and sees the therapist smile at Hope and reach her hand out to shake her hand.

As Hope leaves, she makes an appointment as soon as possible and holds the papers she's been given as close to her chest as possible.

She doesn't tell Liam about her session today and it takes a toll on her, but somehow she feels like it's something that she needs to keep to herself, atleast for now.

~Things happen~

During these last few weeks, something had been growing between Thomas and Michala and they spent more and more time together both at work and at home. Michala had been spending some time working at Forrester Creations to ease Steffy´s way back into work when she returned in a few months. When she had started, she had found a mess and when she told Steffy about it, Steffy reached out to Eric to find out who had been in charge of PR while Steffy was away. Apparently Eric had no idea, so she asked her grandmother and she told her that Donna had been in charge and that told Steffy all she needed to know.

The moment Michala took charge, things flowed better and everyone in the department actually did what they're supposed to do and the things they said about their previous PR-head, was nothing short of embarrasing. Donna had been so bad at her job that everyone had viewed it as a play house because they knew they wouldn't get in trouble for it, but after a while they grew tired of it and just stopped working completely because no one told them what to do. So Michala coming to whip them into shape and throwing Donna out on her behind was a Godsend.

They realised that working on promoting the company was actually quite fun and the numbers sky rocketed and one month later the PR-department was back to where it was supposed to be.

~Things happen~

By the later part of October, Steffy had actually been by work to check things out and show off her gorgeous little girl. There had been so much ooh-ing and awe-ing that Steffy actually had to use force to get her daugher back. But it had been so funny. She then had been by to see her father and grandparents on the executive floor and had been forced to try on the bridesmaids dress for her mothers wedding. She also got to see the dress and it was gorgeous.

The only demands that Taylor had for the wedding was that it not be an all white dress, they all knew she was no virgin and it sure as daylight breaking in the morning wasn't her first wedding.

So Eric had found a fabric in their hide away closet that worked wonders, it was a light pastelly purple fabric with small flowers all over it. Ridge had seen the fabric, but not the dress.

With two months left to the wedding things were moving along great for everyone, well, almost everyone.

Liam had been spending time with his daughter almost every day, either by visiting the baby at Steffy´s apartment or Steffy dropping her off at Spencer Publications.

Hope had been to the therapist almost weekly and she was making great progress, she wasn't ready to meet the baby just yet, but she was working towards not resenting her and her mother so much.

Brooke Logan had started thinking about if she wanted to stay in LA if she had to watch Ridge be so happy with Taylor when she knew that he'd be much happier with her, so she was thinking about moving to New York to be with Bridget and Logan more for a while or move to Paris to be close to her father for a little while. But then she remembers that she has to stay in LA because there's no way Ridge and Taylor´s marriage would last longer then a few months, there's just no way. She'd just wait and see, then she'd pick up the pieces.

Donna Logan saw her sister stand strong in her faith that Ridge and Taylor wouldn't last, but she also knew that Ridge's marriages to Taylor had been the longest Ridge had ever been married and the only reason they didn't last is because Taylor was believed to be dead. She didn't see a reason for Taylor and Ridge´s marriage not to work because of this, but she couldn't say this to her sister because Brooke would just rip her head off. But, on a more positive note, she had reconnected with Justin again and they were slowly working towards a relationship. Things were going great and it had all started when her PR-position was taken from her, she'd known from the beginning that it hadn't been where she wanted to be and had worked hard on getting herself fired and when Michala came on as Steffy´s future assitant, she saw the light at the end of the tunnel.

Katie Logan Spencer on the other hand found herself drawn to wanting to see the little baby girl her stepson had gained when Steffy came back to LA, she continued to see that Steffy wasn't there for Liam as every time Liam came to Steffy´s apartment to spend time with his daughter, Steffy wasn't there or couped up in her office looking over papers that Michala had brought with her the day before, but she never opened the door for Liam and when Steffy brought the baby to Spencer Publications, she walked into Liam´s office, said hello and then she left for an hour or two and went shopping for things she needed for herself or the baby or just got her hair or nails done. When Liam was spending time with Kelleigh, he was almost always by himself or his father was there with him spending some time with his granddaughter. She also noticed that when Wyatt, Bill and Will or any other man went home to Steffy to visit with Kelleigh, Steffy was always there spending time with them. Sure, it could be interpreted that Steffy was deliberetly spending time away from Liam because she still loved him, but truth be told, she needed the small breaks that Liam´s presence provided and she was grateful for them and Katie understood the need for breaks away from the constant care of the newborn. Sure, it was frightening to leave such a little baby, but she also knew that spending to much time with the baby made her irritable and that was detrimental for the baby.

So, it took a little less then seven weeks, but all of a sudden, Katie Logan Spencer was standing outside of Steffy Forresters apartment knocking on the door and almost regretting that she even came here. But when Steffy opens the door with the little girl in her arms with her hair going in every directions, mysterious stains on her shirt and big bags under her eyes, she knew she was needed.

"Hi! Took you long enough!" Steffy says with a laugh.

"What do you mean?" Katie says surprised.

"Well, no mom of a toddler could ever deny the pull of a newborn for to long, add to that the fact that your husband has been by to see us so often and bringing your son with him from time to time." Steffy sends a smile Katie's way. "Now, I know we aren't the best of friends and we really don't like each other that much, but could you please help me out a little?"

"Of course I can. What do you need?"

"A five minute shower and a five minute nap. I just need to have water pouring over me and a tiny little power nap."

And so, Katie finds herself sitting on the couch with a six week old baby girl laying on top of a blanket to keep her clothes from getting spit up on them in case the baby threw up. The smell coming from Kelleigh´s head is intoxicating and just feeling this tiny little body pressing lightly on Katie´s chest made her miss the time when Will was this little and filled her heart with desire for a little baby girl.

Ten minutes later, Steffy peaks through the door from her bedroom into the livingroom and sees Katie gently stroke Kelleigh´s back and gently humming a song for the baby, so she decides to do some work while she has Katie there.

~Things happen~

 **AN:**

 **Oh, Katie is changing her mind about Steffy is she? Or is she about to kidnap baby Kelleigh?**

 **What do you think about baby girl´s name?**

 **Do you think that Hope will _EVER_ be ready to visit Steffy and the baby?**

 **When Steffy is ready for love, should I bring back any guy from her past, or should I create a totally new man for her?**

 **Should Brooke move to New York for a bit to stay with Bridget and Logan? Maybe visit Jack and Nick a little? Maybe she should get a medical scare? I don't know.**

 **I only have one more question, how far into the future do you think I should take this story?**

 **There was more to this chapter before the AN got way longer then it was prior to me feeling like I needed to**


	6. Chapter 6

**AN:**

 **I have absolutely nothing to say except that I don't own a single thing!**

Things happen

 **Chapter six**

 _October 16th 2013_

 _Steffy´s loft._

At the twenty minute mark, Katie realizes that Steffy hasn't come out yet, missing that Steffy checked on them just ten minutes before and she goes and checks on Steffy, finding her with her head on the desk snoozing away, so she sends a text off to Michala to let her know that Steffy is sleeping and that Katie was there, but needed to leave pretty soon. Michala responded that Katie could just place the baby in her crib if she was sleeping and then wondered if Katie could maybe coax Steffy into bed and that she was about to end her day anyway and should be home within an hour and a half and that by that time Steffy should have woken up.

So, Katie takes one last sniff from Kelleigh´s head, lays her down in the crib and then manages to coax Steffy into bed.

When Michala comes home an hour later, Steffy is still sleeping and the baby is just waking up and coos as Michala picks her up to change her diaper and start on dinner.

She looks down into the baby blue eyes of the little girl in her arms. _"It's a good thing Katie came by to see you today don't you think? Gives momma a break and lets her sleep. You are such a good baby!"_ As a response to this the baby just gives Michala one big smile.

~Things happen~

 _One week later, the Spencer house._

Bill Spencer came home to a surprise that evening. Katie had spent over a week trying to figure out how she was going to try and ask if he'd be interested in extending their family with one more child. When the week had passed, she felt like she just had to ask.

He made it through the door and into the kitchen where he saw his wife staring into space.

"Hi!" He gives her a kiss on her forehead. "What are you doing?"

Katie is a little bit startled, then she calms down and exhales a big sigh.

"I've been thinking about something and it's been making making me worried that you might not want the same thing I want." Katie looks down on the table.

"Okej, what might that be?" Bill walks over to the fridge and takes out the waterjug and pours himself a glass of water before walking over to the table and sitting down.

"I went to see Steffy about a week ago and I got to spend some alone time with Kelleigh." Silent tears starts softly falling down Katie´s cheek.

"I think I know where you're going with this." Bill reaches his hand out to take Katie´s. "You want one more baby don't you?"

Katie snaps her head up and looks at Bill surprised.

"Did you really think I haven't thought about it myself? Kelleigh is addictive and Will seems to be infatuated with her already. I think it would be good for him to have a younger sibling."

"She was laying on my chest gently snoozing and her scent just overwhelmed me and it got me thinking about Will´s scent when he was one month old and that made me wish that we could have a new baby."

"I think we should check and see if it would be safe for you to carry another pregnancy, because if it's going to be like with Will then I don't think we should risk it."

"I'll make an appointment with my OB as soon as possible and we'll see." She sends him a small smile and then sighs with relief as she falls back into the chair.

"I love you and want to keep you safe!" Bill gets up from the chair and walks over to her and gives her a kiss.

"I love you too!"

~Things happen~

 _October 25th 2013_

Steffy and Kelleigh had gotten into such a good routine now over the last week that Michala had moved into her own apartment now that the baby was almost eight weeks old and with Kelleigh being such a good baby life was pretty easy. The funny thing was that the apartment opposite Steffy´s had just become vacant and so Michala had decided to let the lease of her apartment run out and move in next door to Steffy and Kelleigh, that way she could be there if Steffy needed her during times out of business hours.

Kelleigh had actually started sleeping almost through the night about a week ago, with just a feed and diaper change at 3:30 am and Steffy was so surprised that Kelleigh was doing so good sleeping. She had three scheduled naps as well as some bonus naps during the day if she needed them. She could fall asleep almost anywhere if she was tired enough.

Steffy had learned Kelleigh´s signals within the first two weeks of them being back home and Kelleigh had probably only cried five times since those first two weeks were over. The baby had a tendency to just lay in her crib and entertain herself by looking at the mural on the wall on the other side of the room and she was perfectly content to wait for her mother to come get her. Kelleigh had even taken to the bottle easier then Steffy would've thought. Kelleigh was still mainly breastfed, but the times where she needed to feed when Steffy weren't around the bottle was an acceptable option and Steffy was grateful for that as it gave her a chance to take mommy time without the baby going hungry and needing formula, pumping had even worked out better then she thought it would.

Steffy was getting restless though, having gone from going to the office every day while still in Paris to not going at all after she left Paris to come back to LA and being comfined to the apartment and caring for a baby she was feeling the work-a-holic in her start coming through and the folders that Michala brought by every once in a while just weren't enough. So, as a remedy for this, she had started a routine for when Kelleigh was with Liam. This last week had caused some minor problems though in Steffy´s plan to not spend so much time with Liam, but she had figured out a solution. Ten minutes before Liam was to come and spend time with his daughter, Steffy started packing things to take with her to work and then she went downstairs with Kelleigh in her arms and her key with her, waited for Liam and when Liam came she handed her over with some instructions and the key. Then she raced off to work.

The couple of hours that she could get in during Liam´s visitations with the baby satisfied her cravings for work, but the times she dropped Kelleigh off at Spencer Publications were still spent pampering herself.

At this particular moment she was on her way up the elevator to go to Liam´s office and drop Kelleigh off for a few hours of Daddy/Daughter-time. The ding that signals that the elevator is at the right floor brought her out of memories of the last few weeks.

Bill´s assitant looks up from her desk at to see the elevator door open revealing a stroller and Steffy behind it.

"Oh! _Kelleigh!"_ She squeals and then rushes over to see the baby. "I know she was here just yesterday, but I missed her so much!"

Steffy just chuckles. "Can you tell Liam we're here?"

"Yeah! I'll do that!"

"Bill will do just fine if Liam can't come right now!"

A couple of minutes later, Allison has hung up the phone.

"Liam is in a meeting at the moment, but his phone was connected to his father´s so Bill should be here any minute!" She drags out the word any because she knows Bill does not waste time when it comes to being with his sons or granddaughter and by the time she stops talking a door is opened and closed and then footsteps are heard.

Steffy looks into the hallway and sees Katie coming down it.

"Hey! I didn't think I'd see you here today!"

"Well, I heard from a very reliable source that my step-granddaughter would be here for a while today."

Steffy gives her a smile.

"I take it you've been sent out to collect?"

Katie nods her head.

"Good, she was fed just before we left home and she's been sleeping for about half an hour, so she should wake up in fifteen minutes or so ready for a small feed, bottle is almost ready in the bag, just warm it up a bit. She'll be in need of a diaper change after she's eaten. Keep her awake for the most part after that. A small nap in about two hours will be fine." She hands all the bags over to Katie and then leans into the stroller and gives her daughter a very light kiss on her forhead. "I'll be back in three hours or so!"

"We'll see you then!" Katie sends off a smile as Steffy walks back into the elevator going to the hairdresser to get a haircut and color in before picking Kelleigh up.

"I'll see you later!"

Katie takes the stroller and walks back to her husbands office. When she gets there she pulls the bottle warmer out of the diaper bag as well as the bottle itself to start warming it up for when Kelleigh wakes up, then she takes a seat by her husbands desk.

"This might not be something one talks about at the office, but I wanted to talk to you as soon as I could." Katie sends off a small smile towards her husband and he nods in reply. "As you know I went and saw my OB today. She said she wanted to do a few more tests just to check on my heart and a few other things, but I should have no problem getting pregnant. It's the carrying the pregnancy to term that's the issue. So I've been scheduled for an ultrasound and a EKG next week and we'll then go from there."

"I'm glad she takes this seriously and has the same concerns as we do, makes me feel safe." Bill looks her in the eye and gives her a reassuring smile. Small coos from the stroller catch their attention and a ding from the bottle warmer alerts them that it's feeding time. "You get Kelleigh and I'll get the bottle and the blanket to change her as well as the diapers and wipes for when we need them."

A sparkle sparks in Katie´s eyes when Bill says to get the baby and so she walks over to the stroller to get the baby.

" _Hello little one!"_ She coos to the baby who instantly opens her eyes to look at the person the voice comes from. " _Are you hungry little one?"_

Katie reaches down into the stroller and gently picks her up. " _Look, grandpa has food!"_

"Yeah, she totally needs a diaper change. Can you believe how well behaved this little girl is?"

"Well, Steffy has her signs down and because she has such a observant mother, she doesn't need to demand attention and she doesn't end up on the wrong side of the cry-scale."

Bill walks over to Katie and hands her the bottle and watches her with longing in his eyes.

Five minutes later and Bill is now tackling changing Kelleigh´s diaper and just as he places the last piece of tape on it, Liam walks through the door.

"Hi dad!" Liam gives a bright smile. "Hi Katie!" He walks over and gives her a hug, meanwhile Bill has managed to dress the little girl after changing her diaper.

Liam then walks over to Bill and his daughter and picks her up.

"Hello baby girl! How are you doing?" To her fathers question, Kelleigh sends her father his first smile. "Yeah, I think you're happy aren't you?"

The baby coos as a response.

~Things happen~

Across town, Taylor and Ridge are having a meeting with the florist to decide on the flowers for the wedding.

"You know what?" Taylor blurts out all of a sudden and she turns to Ridge, who shakes his head. "We've done this three times already, do we really need to do this again?"

"What do you mean? Don't you want to marry me again?" Ridge is pretty shocked.

"Yes, I do want to marry you, but can't we just have close family there and skip all the big stuff? Like just make it official at the courthouse and then have a celebration? We really don't need the big ceremony again. The first time was enough for that. I mean we were just going to get married in your parents livingroom anyway, why not just cut to the chase and skip directly to the festivities?" Taylor looks at Ridge with her eyes pleading with him.

"Yeah, I see your point, but you know that mom is going to feel cheated of the ceremony."

"Yeah, but you know what? Having Eric there for the party is more important to me then having your mother happy at the ceremony."

They had all noticed that Eric was looking worse then when they arrived back in LA and so Taylor and Ridge getting married was probably the last wedding he'd ever get to go to, but they wanted him to be able to stay for as long as he could and having the entire ceremony wasn't needed.

"Yeah, let's skip the ceremony, go to the courthouse and just get it done. I'm sorry for waisting your time!" Ridge turns to look at the florist as he gets up out of the chair.

"Well, a bouquet for the bride is needed either way isn't it?" The woman sends off a smile. "Hey! We're here if you need us! For anything!"

"Thank you!" Ridge sends a smile her way as he pulls out the chair Taylor was sitting on and gives her a hand out of it. "Shall we go there now and see what we need?"

"Yes, let's go!" Taylor glows with the smile that's on her face.

Four hours later, Taylor has become Mrs. Ridge Forrester again and they were onto planning the marriage celebrations. As they walk out of the court house, the ring that sparkles on her finger is the same Ridge gave her when they first got married. He didn't know why, but it felt like it was the best thing to do saving that particular ring. It was important to both of them.

~Things happen~

Steffy had gotten a text from her mother just as she stepped out of the elevator of Spencer Publications on her way to collect her daughter and the news made her very happy. She waves to the girl sitting at the front desk and lets her know that she's picking her daughter up from her father and then she walks towards Bill´s office. She can hear her daughter cooing to her father or grandfather, maybe even her step-grandmother.

She knocks on the door and walks through it when she hears Bill calling out to her to come in.

"Hey Steffy! Have you had a good time?" Katie looks up as Steffy walks through the door.

"I'm sorry I didn't come when I said I would, but I felt a little light headed so I got something to eat and there I met some girls I went to High School with and we started talking and I got caught in that for an hour. But that just gave Liam extra time to spend with his daughter, so I don't think it's that bad. I came here when I started feeling like I was going to explode because I need to feed my baby." Steffy gives a smile. "Oh, mom and dad has cancelled the wedding."

Katie draws a big breath in in surprise. "Why?"

"Well, mom felt like having the celebration was more important then the ceremony and Granddad be able to celebrate with us was more important then everything. So they got married an hour or so ago and the celebration will be this weekend. I was told to invite the two of you. I think you can understand why Brooke and Donna aren't welcome?" Steffy sends a smile.

Katie is actually the one who understands the most.

"Yeah, I understand completely. I'm pretty sure Brooke will misunderstand though and come crash it to make sure Ridge doesn't marry your mother."

"Yeah, just like she's always done it. Except with Whip, I think that's the only wedding that Brooke hasn't tried to get the groom to leave my mother at the altar. It never worked."

"But, didn't your parents wedding after Phoebe died get cancelled after Brooke came to talk to Ridge?"

"Yeah, but he still wanted to marry mom after that interruption, mom's the one who decided to cancel the wedding."

"Yeah, right." Katie just nods her head as she remembers.

"Now, I came to tell you the news that the wedding is cancelled. Now I need to see my baby and feed her before I explode." Steffy sends a smile both their ways. "I'll see you at grandma and granddads house tomorrow at 1 pm!"

"We'll see you then!" Katie waves her off as she watches her leave, then she turns to her husband. "Do you think we need to give them a present?"

"Maybe just a bowl or something? Nothing big, I think they've gotten the best thing they've could've gotten already this year!" Bill sends a smile over to his wife that he gets right back.

Katie walks over to Bill and gives him a kiss.

"I'll go check the stores close by and see if I can find something!"

~Things happen~

Steffy walked out into the hallway and then up a few doors before she gently knocked on the door of Liam's office. He calls out for her to enter and so she does.

" _Hi! Have you had a good time?_ " She whispers when she notices that her daughter is sleeping in her stroller.

Liam nods his head.

"Good! I was wondering if you could maybe spend the day with her tomorrow?" Steffy smiles at her ex-husband.

"Sure! Can I ask why?"

"We're celebrating mom and dad tomorrow. They got married earlier today at the court house and now they wanted to celebrate tomorrow. We've all seen that Granddad isn't getting any better, infact he's getting worse and they felt like having Granddad there for the celebration was more important then having Grandma happy at the ceremony. I guess they'll do this whole ceremony-thing some other time. Your dad and Katie are coming and I wanted to be able to celebrate with my family and to do that I can't have her with me and instead of getting a sitter I thought you'd want to do it. It's starting at 1 pm, but I should probably be there a little earlier so If you could come at just before noon it would be good."

"Sure! I'll be there!"

"You might want to tell your wife that she won't be seeing you until you come home on Sunday. You know, let her prepare herself. Maybe she could spend some time with her mother." Steffy sees Liam nodding his head. "I'll see you tomorrow then. Good bye!"

Liam says good bye and watches her leave, then picks his phone up and calls his wife to tell her that he'll be spending time with Kelleigh tomorrow and he probably won't be back until Sunday.

Ten minutes later he gets a phone call from Hope.

" _Why are you spending so much time with Steffy and Kelleigh?_ "

"I'm not going to be spending time with Steffy. She won't be there."

" _But why can't she care for her own baby? Why do you have to do it?_ " Hope is getting angry.

"Because this is my baby too. She's going to be celebrating with her parents tomorrow from 1 pm and she didn't want to bring the baby with her and instead of finding a baby sitter, she asked me. This was decided just an hour or so ago."

" _Why can't she bring the baby with her then?_ "

"Because she doesn't want to have to worry about the environment being bad for the baby and since I wasn't invited to this celebration and I am the baby´s father, I was the logical choice!"

" _But what about our plans?_ "

"We'll just have to postpone them. My daughter needs me tomorrow and I will not say no to spending time with my daughter."

Hope starts to argue with him.

" **No Hope!** I will **not** say no to spending time with my daughter. I thought we had been through this before! My daughter is my first priority, if Steffy needs me to care for our daughter, I will do it with no reservations, all other plans have to be postponed." He listens to her talking some more. "No, you will not be coming with me. I think you should go see your mother tomorrow because she'll more then likely need the company."

" _Why?_ "

"Because of the reason this celebration is happening. Ridge and Taylor got married today." He can hear Hope gasp for air.

" _What do you mean they got married today?_ "

"Well, that is what normally happens when one gets engaged."

" _No, there are weeks left to the wedding, why did they get married today?_ " Hope starts to feel her chest close in on her because she knew her mother would be devastated.

"Because having Eric there for the celebration was more important then having a happy Stephanie at the ceremony."

" _Yeah, I can understand that. I want you home the moment she comes home though!"_ He can hear the deflated sigh come out of Hope´s mouth, before she almost starts ranting again.

"Hey, I will not get up out of the bed in Kelleigh´s room in the middle of the night because you want me home. I'll go home when I wake up. I don't know when Steffy will be home. You just make sure that your mother stayes away from the celebration, they don't want her there."

" _They can't tell my mother what to do!_ "

"Well, this is an invitation only and your mother will never get an invitation to Ridge and Taylor´s celebration, especially since it's for their marriage!" He listens to Hope go on and on about how her mother should be able to go to this celebration if it's for family.

"Ridge and Taylor, who are the people the celebration is for does not want your mother there, so she should just stay away. She's not getting Ridge back and she should just accept that. You know, like you're saying Steffy should when it comes to me."

It's a blow below the belt, but at this point he seriously do not care about any of that.

"I'll be going to Steffy´s around noon, I'll bring food and drinks with me as well as my pyjamas and stuff to use for a shower on Sunday. You can expect me to come home between ten and twelve. I'll see you later and I do not want to talk to you about this anymore!"

Then he hangs up and puts his phone on silent to be able to work for the next two hours. As he's leaving to go home he looks at his phone and he has twenty missed calls and sixteen different messages. One in particular intrigues him and it's from Steffy.

" _ **I changed my mind, I want Kelleigh there for part of it, so if you could come to Granddads and Grandmas house at around three PM tomorrow I would love that, I have made a extra key for you to use as I want to have my keys with me.**_ _"_

He sends her a reply saying he'll come to the Forrester Mansion tomorrow at three to collect his daughter. When he's collected her, he has about half an hour to get to Steffy´s condo for Kelleigh´s second nap of the day, because of the fact that she will probably be kept up for a little longer then usual that afternoon..

He makes his way home and find that dinner is cooking away in the crockpot and glorious smells creeps into every corner of the cliffhouse.

~Things happen~

 _October 26th 2013_

The next morning, Stephanie and Eric wake up because of noices seeping through the openings of the doors to their bedroom. They look at each other confused and then Stephanie gets out of bed to investigate while Eric gets out of bed. She picks up her dressing gown and walks out the room.

She comes to the staircase and notice that there are flowers everywhere that weren't there when she went to bed so as curiosity takes over, she walks down the stairs and finds Taylor instructing the party planners employes where everything needs to be.

Hearing someone walking down the stairs, when she knows that there isn't supposed to be someone walking down the stairs just yet, Taylor looks up towards the stairs and her smile reaches her eyes.

"Hi Stephanie! Good morning! Did we wake you up? I know it's early."

"Well, it's eight am, we were going to wake up soon anyway. But what's going on?"

Taylor lifts her hand up and shows off her beautiful set of rings that adornes her ringfinger as she pushes a strand of hair from her face.

"Oh! Are you getting married today?" Stephanie looks at her and is thoroughly confused when Taylor shakes her head.

"No, we got married yesterday, but we wanted to celebrate with everyone before Eric´s illness takes him away from us. We both know that he's getting worse and we wanted him here while we celebrate and I hope you'll excuse us for doing it this way. I know you wanted to see us get married."

Stephanie walks down the rest of the stairs and over to Taylor, where she gives Taylor a big hug.

"Oh, honey! I just wanted the two of you to get married and that Brooke didn't get a chance to throw her two cents into it." The smile on Stephanie´s lips reaches her eyes.

"Well, since we're already married, there's nothing she can do about it!" Taylor looks Stephanie deep into her eyes with a glow to her. "I am so happy right now. Ridge and I finding our way back to each other couldn't have happened at a better time. We've both done the whole family thing twice over and neither of the times it worked but now the kids are almost grown up all of them and we both know what we want from life. We're in a really good place and the one thing that was missing was each other."

"Good on you for figuring that out before Brooke put her hooks in him again."

"Oh trust me. Ridge has no intention of ever getting involved with Brooke again and the fact that she still think he does is making me feel sorry for her."

Someone walks through the door.

"Well, well. If it isn't Mrs Forrester." Both of the older women turn around to see their granddaughter/daughter walk through the door with her daughter in the stroller and Michala following closely behind carrying a few bags.

"It sure is! And for the rest of our lives this time!" Taylor gives all three women a big smile. Steffy walks up to her and gives her a side hug while leaning her head on Taylor´s shoulder.

"How is Granddad doing?" Steffy asks gently with a small smile.

"He seemed to be doing okej when I came down here, but at that point he was just waking up, I don't think he was totally aware of me leaving when I left." Stephanie´s facial features goes from joyfull to sad. "Maybe you should take that little girl with you and go see him?"

Steffy is happy that her daughter chose that moment to wake up from her morning food coma slumber after breakfast so that she would be awake when they walked up to see Kelleigh´s great granddad.

"Yeah, now that she's awake she can wrap him around her finger more effectively." She says with a chuckle.

"Just like her momma!" Taylor releases her daughter so that she can leave. Both Taylor and Stephanie watch Steffy pick up the baby, place her comfortably against her chest and then walk up the stairs.

"So, do you need help with anything?" Michala asks when Steffy has walked out of sight and this causes Taylor to put Michala to work.

~Things happen~

In the master bedroom of the Forrester Mansion, Eric has managed to get himself almost out of bed. He can sense that today is going to be more of a good day then bad and when there's a knock on the door, he gets a little bit confused. He is pretty sure that the only ones in the house are him and his wife, the woman who comes and cooks for them isn't due to come in at least an hour according to the clock on his bedside table and he doesn't understand why Stephanie would knock on the door.

"Come in!" He starts putting his feet in his slippers and doesn't see who it is that walks through the door. "You know Stephanie, I never thought you'd start knocking on the door to our bedroom."

"Well, it's a little rude don't you think to not let people know you're coming if you don't live in the house?" Steffy says with a chuckle as she watches Eric´s head shoot up in surprise and Kelleigh voices her agreement with a coo from her mothers chest. "Good morning Granddad!"

"Good morning Steffy! What are you doing here so early?" Steffy hands her baby over to her granddad and watches him melt and become an even bigger teddy bear while he coos and talks with the baby.

"Well, mom needed help and so we came earlier then we planned!" Steffy sits down next to Eric on the bed.

"Why would Taylor need help here?" Eric was confused and the energy he used to think about it could be used later in the day.

"Mom and dad got married yesterday and they wanted to celebrate with you so here we are. How are you doing today?"

"What? Ridge and Taylor got married yesterday? What about the wedding?" More energy was lost. "I'm having somewhat of a good day, I thinkt that a nap is needed later on."

"Well, it's a good thing your nap buddy is here isn't it?"

Eric turns his head to look at Steffy and nods his head with a big smile on his lips.

Steffy can see though that his energy is fading and if he's going to have any energy left for the celebration, he was going to need a nap right now.

"Hey, why don't I go downstairs and find you some breakfast while you spend a little time with Kelleigh?" Steffy sees her grandfather nod his head. "Maybe you should get back in bed? The celebration this afternoon is going to take a lot of your energy!"

"Yeah, that might be a good idea." He hands the baby back to Steffy and then gets off the bed to get closer to the pillows and then leans into them and Steffy lays the baby down next to him in the middle of the bed from her grandmothers side.

"I'll be right back!" She walks around the bed, gives her grandfather a hug and then she leaves to find some breakfast.

When she returned twenty minutes later, Eric was fast asleep and Kelleigh was cooing beside him looking in awe at the chandelier that provides light in the bedroom when it's dark outside.

" _Awe, were you such bad company that granddad fell asleep huh?_ " As a response Kelleigh just smiled as she recognized her mother. " _Shall we go and let him sleep then?"_

Kelleigh just ooohs as a respons as her mother picks her up and walks out the bedroom door, leaving a tray with a bottle of orange juice, a plate with pancakes, a bowl of berries, and a little jar of maple sirap, a cup for coffee and a thermos with coffee in it behind.

~Things happen~

"Weren't you supposed to be leaving to go to Steffy´s flat over an hour ago?'" Hope finally snaps after watching her husband mope about the house for the last four hours.

"No, she texted me and said that she wanted Kelleigh with her until four pm and that I could come get her then, so right now I'm waiting for the clock to strike 3:20 so that I can go and collect my daughter." Liam explains.

"Oh, okej. Mom´s coming in a little bit, you might wanna leave now before she gets here!"

"Okej. I hope you have a good time!"

"Yeah, me too!" Liam sends a smile her way, but she can tell that he's distracted.

She watches him walk over to the fridge and take some food containers out and place in a bag, then he walks into the bedroom and finds the suit case he was bringing and placed the bag with the containers in the suit case and then he walks out the door while pulling the suit case behind him.

When he's clear out the door, she lets the tears that's been flooding her eyes all day finally fall and that's how her mother finds her.

"Hey, honey, what's wrong?" Brooke walks over to her daughter and pulls her into a hug.

"That baby isn't even eight weeks old and she still rules my world, I'm not able to plan anything because Steffy might need him to care for her baby."

"But honey, that's his baby too and you know how he felt about not knowing his father when he grew up. Once you have a baby with him, he'll forget all about that baby and focus on your child. I think you should get pregnant really soon to show him what he missed out on when Steffy abandoned him to hide in Paris after she found out that you were lied to."

"But mom, she already knew we were being lied to, she was there remember, she knew what happened that night. There wouldn't be any reason for her to hide in Paris when the truth came out because she already knew what the truth was and I'm not getting pregnant just because I want Liam to spend time with me. I want him to spend time with me because he wants to. I'm his wife, I shouldn't have to demand that he spends time with me."

"Well, it will work itself out when you do have his baby. Trust me. Now, where is Katie and Donna?"

"Donna is not coming and Katie was invited to the celebration, apparently Ridge and Bill have gotten quite close since Kelleigh was born. I don't know how that happened."

~Things happen~

When Liam reached the Forrester Mansion to pick his daughter up, the party was in full swing and of course Kelleigh was in the middle of it all with her mother. Steffy was sitting on the couch with Kelleigh laying on her lap laughing up a storm at the faces her uncle was making at her. Steffy was wearing a dark purple empire cut knee length dress with a sweetheart neckline, Thomas wore a pair dark grey slaks and a lighter grey dress shirt with a tie that matches Steffy´s dress to a T. He looks around the room and sees Ridge wearing the exact same outfit talking to his father and Katie about some thing or another. He looks around some more and finds Taylor talking to Eric and Stephanie as well as Kristen, Felicia and Thorne, the last three having flown in from Miami, New York and Paris for the occasion. He figures the colorscheme for the party was grey and purple as almost everyone is wearing one or both colors, some even more then one shade of the color.

"Hi Liam!" Pam walks up to him. "Here to collect the baby?"

Liam just nods his head. At that particular time he's captivated by a laugh he hadn't heard much these last few months at the same time that his little baby girl´s laugh rang out and he found himself staring at his former wife while she smiles big at their daughter and coos to her.

Steffy feels his presence the moment he walks through the door, she knows his there the whole time and then her daughter makes the funniest face and she just can't help herself. The laughter starts deep in her belly and then pours out like a waterfall and because she's laughing, Kelleigh starts laughing with her.

"Oh, Kelleigh! Look who's here!" She picks up the baby and adjusts her so she can see her father. The smile that breaks across her face makes Steffy certain that she made the right choice to come back to LA to raise her baby. Kelleigh just smacks her tongue and reaches out for her father.

All the people at the party heard Steffy announce to her baby that Liam was there and awed at her for the love shared between father and daughter as well as daughter and mother.

Liam breaks from his trance the moment Kelleigh starts getting a little bit fussy. There's two reason for that, the first is that Liam isn't reacting fast enough, the second is that she has been kept up for almost an hour more then usually because of the party.

Thomas looks over to where Liam is. "Are you losing your touch man? Or were you distracted?" Thomas sends a meaningfull glance to his sister.

She mouths back to him that it's not gonna happen, to that Thomas laughs and nods. "Yeah, I know!"

Steffy turns back to Liam. "Wait here and I'll go get her stuff." She hands Kelleigh over to her father and then walks up the stairs.

" _If you grow up to look like your mother, I hope you don't end up falling for someone like me!_ " Liam whispers as he watches Steffy walk away.

Five minutes later, Steffy comes down the stairs with all the bags, she leaves them at the door and then she walks over to the patio doors and fetches the stroller and car seat.

Everyone says bye to the baby and then Steffy and Thomas follow Liam out to his car. Steffy hands him his keys to the apartment and gives him some instructions. Liam listens intently and then places the car seat in the car and places Kelleigh in the car seat, places all the bags around the baby and the stroller in the trunk. After that he gives Steffy a sideways hug and shakes Thomas hand and walks over to the drivers seat and wishes them a good time, then he gets in the car and drives away.

Thomas looks at his sister and sees the tears forming in her eyes. "Hey, it's just for this evening, he's not leaving with her for good."

"I know, but I've never been away from her for this long ever." She looks up at her brother. "I miss her already!"

He pulls her in and gives her a hug.

"Hey, this is mom and dad´s wedding celebration. Besides, at first you thought he should have her for four hours more." He gives her a squeeze.

"Yeah, I know. I don't know what I was thinking." She gives a small chuckle.

"Let's go celebrate our parents!" She nods her head and they walk back inside.

~Things happen~

Across town a text is read by Hope letting her know that Liam made it to Steffy´s apartment safe and sound.

For Hope, this was an indication that Liam felt a little more secure in their marriage.

"See, he thinks about you even when he's with the baby." Brooke ´purrs´in her daughters ear.

"She's probably sleeping so he saw his chance to let me know he's doing okej." Hope lays down to lay her head on her mothers lap. Brooke instantly starts caressing her head and play with her hair.

~Things happen~

 **AN:**

 **Yeah. Tridge are married again. Yaaay! So, do you think that Brooke is right in her thinking that Tridge will not last?**

 **As I was writing the part where Liam takes off in the car, a thought popped into my head, but it was just way to evil to write so I let it go.**


	7. Chapter 7

**AN:**

 **Yeah, so, not exactly what I had planned for, but Eric decided to not agree with my plans so here it is.**

Things happen

 **Chapter seven**

 _October 26th 01:10 am_

 _Steffy´s apartment_

Liam woke up when keys were entering the lock on the door to the apartment, knowing that Steffy was probably very tired when she got back home, he chose to stay in the bed and listen to her going through her night routine.

He hears her coming out of the bathroom and walk into the nursery. He sees her walk over to the crib and look at her daughter to check if she's sleeping before caressing her head and then blowing a kiss.

She walks out of Kelleighs room and into her own and he hears her climb into bed. Listening to her breath even out he falls back asleep.

Two hours later he's awoken yet again, this time by the sounds of his daughter nursing.

" _Were you a good girl for daddy?"_ Steffy is whispering to not wake Liam up and Kelleigh is just suckling away. " _I bet you were, you wanna know why?"_ With being occupied with eating, Kelleigh is not answering this time either. _"Because you don't have any reason not to be! I know you so well baby girl. If you just follow your schedule, there's nothing that would cause you not to be a good girl."_

She's sitting in the arm chair placed next to the crib, stroking her daughters hair. She's wearing a big oversized t-shirt with a teddy bear on it, a pair of shorts and a pair of fuzzy socks, she also has a blanket laying over her shoulder to shield herself while breastfeeding. And Liam thinks that she's never looked more beautiful.

After a little while, Kelleigh starts releasing her hold on her mothers breast and knowing that her baby has had enough food for this feeding time, she places her with her head on her shoulder and gently taps her back. Kelleigh burps the way she's supposed to and so Steffy walks over to the changing table to check Kelleigh´s diaper.

When she's done, Steffy carries her daughter back to the crib and places her in it, caresses her head and then says good night. She keeps caressing Kelleigh´s head until she falls back asleep, then she walks out the door to her own bedroom and crashes for the night.

~Things happen~

 _October 26th 09:45 am_

 _Liam´s cliffhouse._

Liam walks through the door of his house with a smile on his face. Hope is in the kitchen starting on next weeks meals.

"Good morning!"

Normally, his smile would multiply on her lips, but as she knew that there's only one reason for that smile she's not as receptive to it as she usually is.

"Good morning!"

"How was your mother yesterday?" Liam walks over to the table and sits down. He checks everything on the table and figures out what Hope is making and gets up and fetches a cuttingboard and a knife and starts cutting up peppers, carrots, onions and tomatos to help his wife with the preparations.

"She was angry that Katie chose to go to the celebration and that Ridge had gotten married, but it is what it is. She can't do anything about it and Ridge is obviously happy with his choice so I'm not going to say anything about it. Anyway. How was your day with Kelleigh?"

"She's such an easy baby that it's amazing to me that I'm her father, I was so not a good baby. But it was amazing being able to put her to bed and being around her for such a long period of time was really nice." He sends her a small smile. "So, I was planning on taking you out for dinner tonight, if you'd like to go out?"

Hope´s smile starts forming eventhough she knows he's doing it because she got mad at him on Friday.

"Yeah! I'd love to. I just need to get all this done and then we can go!"

"I'll make us some sallads for lunch so that you don't have to and I'll work on my collumn for Eye on Fashion while you get these crockpot bags ready." He sees her nod her head. "I'll see you in a little bit!"

She then watches him walk to his home office and she continues with what she's working on.

~Things happen~

Over at Steffy´s place, a similar event is taking place. Since having the baby, she realized that making dinner every night just isn't working any more and so she decided that Sundays would be spent cooking the next weeks dinners, although some would last for more then one week as eating the same thing multiple days in a row was boring and since her brother was single and living alone, he came over and did the same.

She had a sleepless night a few weeks ago and had seen videos on youtube for weekly cooking and some videos on monthly cooking and thought it might be just what she needs.

Being that both of the Forrester-siblings were cooking, they could divide off the meals they made between them.

"So, how was it waking up with Liam in your apartment?" Thomas looks up at his sister from opening cans of crushed tomatos for the lasagna sauce.

"Well, he left before I woke up, but I found a note on the kitchen table that he had fed and changed Kelleigh before leaving and she was having her breakfast slumber. It was nice getting to sleep in after yesterday." Steffy has focused her attention on her brother as she's talking. "So, what's going on with you and Michala?"

Thomas snapps his head up.

"I'm sorry what?"

"You seriously don't think I heard you come from her apartment when you came here?"

Thomas cheeks turns a beautiful red as he blushes.

"Yeah, well. Her ex has apparently found out that she's back in the states and has been bothering her and as she got a little bit drunk last night, she wanted me to take her home."

"Yeah, I figured. We'll make sure he's not an issue, we'll help her out! It's time he lets her go, it's been years. If he doesn't stop we'll just need to report it and help her get a restraining order against him."

There's a knock on the door and Steffy goes to answer it.

"Oh, hi Michala! Are you doing okay?"

"No!" Then she hands her phone over to Steffy and Steffy reads the text that Michala´s ex had sent her.

"Thomas come here!" Steffy calls out. Thomas comes over and reads the text. "We need to talk to a lawyer. We can't wait anymore!"

And so research happens and the next day the first thing Steffy does after taking care of her baby is call a lawyer and find out everything she'd need to get her best friends ex off her back. Turns out they already had everything they needed.

~Things happen~

One month later Michala still didn't feel completely safe, but so much more safe then before. Because of the heavy load of evidence, the guy had actually been put in jail for stalking, which she was really happy about, but she still didn't feel completely safe. Even his own mother had testified against him, which the judge felt was a strong indication that the guy should not still be on the streets and the threat towards Michala was very real.

It was Sunday today and Steffy had come back to work for a few more hours the Monday that same week and with Steffy back at work, Michala had someone she could ride to work with in the morning.

Today was a day off though and it was going to spent spending time with the Forrester-siblings, Wyatt and her god daughter.

She takes her keys, walks out the door, locks the door and walks across the landing. She knocks on the door and waits for someone to open the door.

On the other side of the door, Kelleigh is laying on a blanket on the floor ooh-ing with her mother as Steffy is cutting up some tomatos, sallad, cucumber, red onion and some apples for a sallad a little later on.

"Hey Kelleigh! Will you open the door please!" Steffy says with a chuckle.

Kelleigh responds by expressing a sound that almost sounds like No.

"Yeah, I know honey, you're too young for that and if you did do that, I would be totally amazed!" Steffy laughs. "You want to come with and open the door?"

Kelleigh makes the same sound she did previously and then follows it up with a yawn.

"Well, I'll just open it myself then."

Kelleigh makes a motion of almost nodding her head and then she follows her mothers movements with her eyes and ears.

Steffy opens the door and Michala slips into her arms craving the closeness. Steffy could tell that Michala hadn't had a particularly good morning before she came to see them and so just guided her over to the kitchen table.

Michala sits down and Steffy walks over to the other side of the table and sits down herself.

"How are you doing?"

"I don't really know. I'm not as scared since the sentencing fell, but I just can't make myself feel entirely safe unless Thomas is there. I felt safer living here even."

"I can understand that, so I'm going to ask you a question. I'm thinking about moving to a house, I have to eventually, but I was thinking I should do it now to make it easier for myself. But it would be much easier if Kelleigh and I weren't the only ones living there. So I'd like to know if you'd like to become our housemate?" Steffy reaches over the table to take Michala´s hands into her own as she's talking. "I want us both to feel safe and this apartment is just way to small and now that I have Kelleigh, I need a bigger space. But, a bigger space also adds other things that I'm not prepared to take on right now full on. But a housemate would help with that."

"Yeah, sure."

"I was thinking about asking Thomas as well and if there will be three of us, we could get a house where you could have suits on two floors and then a commonarea and kitchen in the middle. Or maybe half the house in the middle with two suits spanning two floors and then have a common area on the ground floor. Thomas and I can buy the house and maybe that way you'll feel safe."

Michala was about to answer when there was a knock on the door. Steffy turns her head and looks at her daughter. "How about this time then?"

Kelleigh denies the request this time as well.

"Okey, I'll do it this time as well, but next time you better go and open the door!" Steffy chuckle and Michala joins in.

Steffy goes and opens the door and welcomes her brother as well as her daughters uncle.

"Well, did you guys decide to come at the same time or is this a total coincidence?"

Thomas and Wyatt look at each other.

"Coincidence!" They both let out.

"Okey. We've got something to talk about Thomas." Steffy makes eye contact with her brother as she's speaking.

"Okey. Is Michala here already? Or should I go get her?" Steffy just smile at her brother.

"No, she came here just before you did. I've already asked her."

"Okey!" The smile on Thomas face grew bigger.

"She's in the kitchen."

And thus, all three in the group by the door walk over to the kitchen table. Thomas sits down next to Michala and Wyatt takes a seat next to Steffy as she sits down.

"So, what I wanted to talk to you about was that I feel like this place is getting to small for me and I was thinking about moving to a house. But it's such a big undertaking that I wanted to ask you and Michala if you wanted to move in with Kelleigh and I." Steffy sends a meaningfull glance her brothers way to make him understand that Michala feeling safe was a part of her reasoning as well.

"Yeah, sure. My lease is going to expire in March anyway so why not."

"The more we are the bigger house we can get."

"Uhm, excuse me." Wyatt interjects.

"Yeah?

"I was wondering if maybe I could join you? I mean, I could live in the basement or something. My lease expires in March as well and I don't want to stay were I am right now."

"Sure. Unless you have an issue living with two women, one baby and a dude who's really messy?"

"Not an issue! Atleast not for me! My brother might have something to say about me living within the same four walls of his daughter though."

"Oh! I don't think that'll be a problem. He'll understand once it's all explained."

Thomas and Wyatt had developed a friendship that was formed through Steffy´s need to spend time with all of them to not loose her mind over only spending time with Kelleigh or going to work. The cooking days just weren't enough.

And so the house hunting begins, but when they come across a vacant lot just outside of LA in the same area as Eric and Stephanie´s house the plans to possibly build a home entered all their minds.

"Hey, why don't we build a house that can house the four of you and then build an apartment on top of the garage, which could connect to the house as well that I could live in?" Wyatt throws out there as a suggestion.

"Yeah, that could work or maybe we could build a house that contains three apartments over two floors, one for Kelleigh and I, one for you and one for Thomas and Michala or we could add another floor and Kelleigh and I could have the whole top floor?"

"You mean three apartments along side each other and then an apartment along the whole length of the building on top of those three apartments?"

"Yeah, or a bottomfloor with shared common areas." Steffy takes out a sketchpad and starts drawing up a rough design for how she pictured the house to look. "Or an H-shaped house where we each have a wing as well as the common areas in the connecting part of the house?"

"That could work." Thomas reaches for the sketchpad and then he starts drawing a beautiful sketch of a house that look similar to the siblings grandparents house, but with added wings. "Like this kind of?"

"Uhm, have you missed your calling Thomas?" Wyatt laughs a little. "I mean, that sketch took you what? 20 minutes to make?"

"Yeah, I think you have a real talent for drawing, maybe dresses and suits isn't what you should be drawing?" Michala interjects as Steffy nods her head in agreement.

"You should look into becoming an architect!" To her mothers statement, Kelleigh coos as if she agrees completely. "See, even your niece agrees!"

Wyatt, Michala and Thomas laughs at Steffy's antics.

It does plant a seed in Thomas head though.

"Hey, you could design our house!" Steffy exclaims and pushes the sketchpad and pensil to her brother. "Now, I got to feed my baby, could you two start on lunch while I feed Kelleigh and Thomas sketches our house?"

Michala and Wyatt nods their heads.

~Things happen~

A lot of things had happened in the Spencer-house as well. The tests that Katie had gone through had proven their concerns to be true and Katie would not be able to carry another pregnancy to term. So, they had spent days thinking about the pros and cons of adoption and surrogacy. In the end, after a long discussion, they had decided on surrogacy.

They knew that they didn't want anyone close to the family to carry their baby if they decided on surrogacy, but they knew that they wanted to use their own eggs and sperm. So they had started the IVF-process and knew that if it didn't work, adoption was still on the table.

They had gotten in contact with a center that focuses on connecting possible surrogates with families. The center had found five different women who would be perfect and Katie and Bill just had to decide what they wanted to do.

November would be the first time they were doing an egg retrieval.

~Things happen~

The visits with the therapist were still a secret, but Hope was working up the courage to tell her husband. She felt like she was making progress and her therapist agreed to some extent, but felt that there was so much that still needed to be talked about.

Hope had been apprehensive in the beginning, but as time went by, she felt more at ease and felt she could talk to this woman freely and she realized that it was so much easier to talk to someone who had no affiliation with her family because there was no history there and she could then give another perspective to the situations that Hope describes as monumental in her life.

Such as realizing that even though Steffy tried to seduce Oliver away from her, Steffy isn't the reason their relationship ended, Steffy actually had nothing to do with that and she realized that Steffy had been treated unfairly by Ridge and her mother at the time.

Her realizations hadn't detered her from her feelings about Steffy though, although they had calmed slightly. She wasn't ready to spend time with either of Steffy or Kelleigh and it would be a long time until that would happen.

~Things happen~

When Taylor and Ridge had returned from their honeymoon two weeks ago, they went straight to the Forrester Mansion to check up on Eric and see how Stephanie was doing.

Stephanie was doing good, but her emotions were all over the place because she could tell that Eric´s health was deteriorating as the days went by.

During the last two weeks Stephanie had been thinking about hiring a nurse to help her take care of her husband and the first time she brought it up to Eric, he agreed instantly because he could see the effects that the stress was putting on his wife.

And this is why Stephanie, Eric, Taylor, Ridge, Thorne, Felicia and Kristen were currently done talking to some women that an agency had found for them and were now discussing who they'd feel would fit the best within the family and had the qualifications to do the job.

"Well, I don't think we'll get to much of a decision right now. However, is there anyone all of you don't think is the right one?" Taylor tries to defuse the argument currently happening between the four Forrester-siblings.

Every single one of them points to two of the seven women.

"Okey, so, they're gone. No reason to keep them in the running." Taylor reaches out and takes away the youngest and the oldest. The five remaining women ranges from a certified nurse in her thirties with a speciality towards the geriatric section that didn't quite fit in with the family to a woman that has gone to nursery school and didn't finish due to having a baby, but fit in quite nicely and that seemed to be the problem. "So, do we choose experience and knowledge over fit within the family? Because that's were we are right now. Stephanie, you decide since you're going to be the one working with the nurse."

Stephanie looks over to her husband, who just nods his head. "We'll talk to her again." She points to the younger woman with the certifications.

"Okey, I'll call the agency and ask to meet with her again." Taylor collects the other files and walks out the patio doors to call the agency back to have them call the nurse they wanted to talk to again back and to bring the papers in case they were needed.

As she walks back into the room, Eric is falling onto the floor as he comes back from the kitchen after getting a glass of water.

Ridge and Thorne rushes over to their father and pick him up to place on the couch and when they pick him up, they realize just how much weight Eric has lost over the last few months.

Knowing that it would be a good idea to take him to the hospital, Taylor calls 911 and then when that's done, she calls the agency back to postpone the meeting that afternoon.

Four hours later, they're sitting in the doctors office to discuss the course of treatment.

"The thing that worries me the most is the fact that his energy disappears so quickly. Just that short walk into the kitchen and back resulted in him laying on the floor because his energy left him so fast." Taylor is the one most 'there' to talk to the doctor.

"The best situation for Mr Forrester right now is for him to spend time with his family because it seems like there isn't that much time left. So if it's possible, he should move down stairs and a nurse should be with him at all times."

"We've been talking with an agency who will provide us with care for Eric. I guess we'll convert the downstairs office to a bedroom for him." She looks around at the other people present and sees that they still aren't completely out of their haze. "I'll take care of the arragements!"

"That's good! Let me know if there's something you need." The doctor sends off a smile. "Now, we want to keep Mr Forrester here for a few days to check on his vitals and see if we can get his energy up. But when those days are over, he would probably need to start thinking about what needs to be done to prepare the family for the future."

The doctors smile turns into a compassionate smile.

"We'll talk to him about that when he comes home. We need to find and hire the nurses and rebuild the office and we don't have that much time to do it and I need to talk to the rest of the family." She starts getting up and collecting all of her things. "Thank you for your time and advice and we'll see you when we get to take Eric home?"

"Yes, you will! I'll see you then."

She turns around and gets her husbands attention he then reaches out to his mother and siblings to point out that it's time to go.

~Things happen~

An hour and a half later they have visited Eric in his room and then they went home and Thorne and Ridge have been put on taking the furniture out of the office while Kristen and Felicia packs boxes full of books, awards and important papers and take them out to the guesthouse closest to the house for the alterations of the office.

Taylor and Stephanie are currently in a meeting with the agency discussing what they'll be doing.

"The doctors said that he'd need someone with him almost constantly, so we'll need atleast eight nurses on a rotating schedule. Four nurses per day doing seven hour shifts so that they'll be able to inform the nurse that's coming in after them. They'll be able to eat with the family and we'll provide the food, they shouldn't have to waste time to fix up food for themselves. They're here to care for my father in law and that's what they should focus on. They will not use their phone in any way. We'll need them here within the next few days." Taylor counts of some more things that's important.

"Yes, you set the groundrules for what is and isn't acceptable in your house outside of the rules we have for the staff we have working for us. This is our standard contract and you can add your rules to it."

Taylor looks over the contract and sees that most of the things she listed were already written in the contract.

"We'll write up the rules we want added to this and then we'll sign with the staff we feel are the best for the job. We've decided to pass on these two," Taylor hands over the files of the nurses they passed on. "the other five you sent as suggestions would work, but we need three more."

"When you called to let us know that you've rejected two of the ones we suggested and then called us again to postpone the meeting due to Mr Forrester collapsing we figured that the two you rejected wouldn't come back up on the table and that you'd need some more. So we checked our system and found these five."

"We'll need to discuss this with their children and then we'll be in touch." She collects the files and then gets up to bid the representatives from the agency good bye.

She shows them the door and then walks back to Stephanie. She reaches out and takes Stephanies hands in her own.

"Thank you for helping us with this, I know I'm not that much help right now." Stephanie says with tears in her voice.

"Hey! There's no need to thank me! I wouldn't have it any other way." Taylor looks her mother in law deep in the eyes. "Well, I would like for Eric not to have this decease at all, but since that's not happening, this is where I'm needed."

"Thank you anyway!"

"You're welcome!"

Stephanie pulls Taylor into her arms for a hug.

"We need to talk to your children now."

~Things happen~

 _November 27th 2013_

 _New York_

Bridget knew that her father wasn't doing as good as he probably should and the phone call she's about to receive wouldn't make things any easier.

The phone starts ringing just as she's about to walk out the door to drop Logan off at the hospitals daycare.

"Hello?" She doesn't recognize the number and is unsure whom she's talking to.

" _Hi Bridget! I'm sorry to call this early, I know you need to get to work, but this is probably the only time I can call about this."_ She can tell that Taylor is nervous and extremly worried.

"Hi Taylor! Is dad okey?"

" _He was admitted to the hospital yesterday afternoon and we found out that there's not much time left. We're trying to figure out how to best care for Eric and right now your brothers are remodeling the office downstairs for him to live in from now on and we're in the middle of choosing the nurses that are going to take care of him and we were wondering if maybe you'd want to come home and help us decide?_ "

"Yes, I would actually. How long will dad be in the hospital?"

" _The doctor said that we should be able to bring him home this Friday, so he won't be there very long._ " Bridget can tell that Taylor is in planner mode.

"I'll talk to my chief about taking a leave of absence. I feel like maybe I should be there for the rest of the time dad has left. Have you talked to Rick yet? What about Thorne, Kristen or Felicia?"

" _I talked to Rick briefly yesterday evening and he should be coming over in just a little bit with Caroline. Or is he with Maya now? I can't remember. Anyway, talk to your chief about that and call me when you have. Talk to Nick, Jackie and Owen as well so you know that they're prepared when you have to leave. Will you be bringing Logan with you or will you leave him with his father?_ "

"I think I'll leave him with Owen for now, but if it goes on for a longer period of time, maybe they should all come back. I don't want to tear him away from his routines if it doesn't last long." Bridgets voice breaks at the end of the last sentence.

" _Yeah, let's see how long you need to stay here before making plans to move Logan away from his friends, isn't he going to start school soon?"_

"He is. We're going to be doing our first visit of the school Jack goes to so that they can go to the same school. But like you said when you called, I was on my way to work and I need to talk to some people. I'll call you as soon as I know!"

" _I'll be expecting your call!_ "

They both say good bye and Bridget rushes out the door with her son and drops him off like planned. She goes and gets changed for her day and then she goes and knocks on the door of her chief.

"Come in!" The chief of Bridget´s department looks up. "Hello Dr. Forrester, what can I help you with?"

"My father was admitted to the hospital yesterday and my sister in law just called and asked if I wanted to come help with the decisions. I said that I did and now I need to ask for some time off to go back to LA to help care for my father." Bridget looks straight into her chiefs eyes.

"Okey, when do you need to leave?"

"Yesterday?" Bridgets voice breaks a little.

"How long do you need to be gone for?"

"I have no idea." Bridget gives a shaky breath.

"How about I give you a leave of absence for one month and you'll either come back when your dad is better or we'll discuss our future plans when the month is over?" She sends of a small smile towards Bridget.

"My sister in law said there isn't that much time left so if I were to come back before the month is over it's because my father passed away."

"Oh, I'm sorry! How about I give you a month extra and we'll see after that?"

"Thank you!"

"Are you working today or will you leave right now?"

"There are a few people I need to talk to, but they're currently working so I think I'll work some hours and contact the patients I was going to see today and then brief the doctor that will be taking over my patients those two months. Do you have anyone in mind?"

"I was thinking that maybe Dr Johns could take over your patients, I know he doesn't have that many right now and he's got the experience to care for your patients." Dr. Morris looks at her computer to check what Dr Johns is doing. She then picks up the phone and calls out that Dr Johns is to report to Chief Morris´s office.

Fifteen minutes later, Dr Johns walks through the door.

"Hello! You wanted to see me?"

"Yes, we did. Dr Forrester here is going to be taking a leave of absence for two months and I thought you could take over her patients for those two months, if that's okey with you?"

"Absolutely! Most of my patients have gotten to a point where they have had the surgery they needed and are progressing well with their pregnancies. So I can't see any reasons why I couldn't take on Dr Forresters patients for the next two months. May I ask why she needs to take a leave of absence for two months?" He looks from one of the women to the other.

"My father was admitted to a hospital yesterday and with his cancer, he doesn't have that much time left so I'm going to go to LA to be there for him during his last days of life." Tears start to threaten to spill and Bridget starts blinking.

"I'm sorry. I hope he's well looked after until the end and not in much pain."

"Yeah, my sister in law is a therapist and she's working hard to make sure he get's treated well."

"That's good. Should we get started on the briefing? I mean, I need to know things where your patients are concerned."

"Yes, let's go to my office and look at the files. I need to send a quick text to my sister in law and then I need to call my patients that I'm seeing today, or maybe you'd like to meet them with me?"

"That would be preferable. When is your first consultation?"

"In about an hour, so if you want we can get you up to speed about the others? I'm going to be leaving at two pm to go home and get things ready for me and my son as well as talk to his father, his fathers wife and his stepbrother about me leaving for a little while."

"I hope it all works out. Let's get to work!"

The two doctors leaves Dr Morris office and the rest of the day just flowed.

The discussion with Owen, Jackie and Nick worked out like she hoped. It's about 10:22 pm when she calls her sister in law to tell her that she'll be on a plane out tomorrow morning.

~Things happen~

 _November 28th 2013_

 _LA_

When her mother hadn't been in touch for over two days, Steffy was starting to get a little worried, so, she calls her mother.

" _Hello?_ "

"Hi mom!"

" _Oh, hi Steffy, how are you doing?_ " Steffy can hear that her mother isn't in the mood to talk to her daughter right now.

"Well, my mother hasn't called me in the last two days so I was getting a little worried."

" _Oh, I'm sorry, I meant to call you, but with everything that's happened there were things that needed to be done."_

"Why? What's happened? Are you and dad okey?" Then a thought hits her. "Is granddad okey?"

" _He was admitted to the hospital two days ago and we needed to make sure he'll be well looked after when he comes back home. Kristen, Thorne and Felicia stayed in LA for a while after the wedding celebration and so when we were trying to decide who we should hire as a nurse to care for Eric, he walked into the kitchen to get a glass of water and on his way back he collapsed. We're going to go bring him home tomorrow."_ Steffy gasps at the news.

"And I thought I had news. I'll come right over to grandmas house to see how she's doing."

" _Yeah, I think that's a great idea, gives her something else to think about."_ Taylor sighs on the other end of the line.

"I just need to call Liam to cancel his time with Kelleigh, I think Grandma needs Kelleigh more then he does right now. He can have her for a longer period of time tomorrow instead."

" _Send me a text when you leave the flat!"_

"Will do! Bye mom, see you soon!"

" _I love you!"_

"Love you too!"

At the moment, Kelleigh is taking a small nap and Steffy can call Liam without having to worry much about her daughter.

The signals chime over and over until the call disconnects. Steffy knowing that Liam would normally answer his phone sooner then that calls once again, two rings in it disconnects again. Having had two failed attempts at calling his phone, she tries his office phone, but the same thing happens. She tries one more time and when the call disconnects when she tries his cell a third time, she gives up and calls his father.

" _Hello! Bill Spencer here!"_

"Well, hello Bill, do you think you could tell me where your son is? I've tried his cell and office phone multiple times and it disconnects over and over."

" _Well, Liam is sitting right in front of me right now, but he doesn't have his phone with him. Do you need to talk to him?"_

"No, can you just tell him that I need to cancel his time with Kelleigh today because granddad was admitted to the hospital two days ago and we need to see grandma and bringing Kelleigh along with me is going to give grandma something else to think about for a brief period of time other then granddads illness and current situation and we need to get going right now. Liam will have more time with her tomorrow as compensation!"

" _Of course I will tell him that!"_

"Thank you!"

They both say good bye and after Bill has hung up the phone he looks at his son.

"If you're supposed to have Kelleigh today, why don't you have your phone with you to meetings?"

"Well, this meeting wasn't supposed to be taking so long. Why?"

"Well, apparently Steffy has been trying to reach you over both your cell phone and your office phone, but they kept getting disconnected, to tell you that Kelleigh is needed at Steffy´s grandmothers house today and you'll get more time with your daughter tomorrow."

"Why is she needed at Stephanie and Erics house?"

"Eric was admitted to the hospital two days ago and Kelleigh is needed to distract Stephanie for a little while."

"Oh, of course. Anyway, are we done?"

"Yeah, I think so. I'll let you know if I remember something else we need to talk about."

"Good! I'll see you before I go home!" Liam gets out of the chair and starts walking to the door. He grabs the handle and hears his father say he will too. Liam nods his head and walks out the door to go his own office.

He opens the door and is startled when he sees who's sitting in his office chair.

"Of course, that's why the calls kept getting disconnected." Liam sighs.

~Things happen~

 **What is it with me and cliffhangers? Although you probably already know who's sitting in the chair behind Liam´s desk. Or do you?**

 **Anyway Eric's collaps was not something I planned on happening right now, but he disagreed so here we are.**


	8. Chapter 8

**AN:  
**

 **I do not own anything concerning the show.**

 **Welcome back to Things happen!**

 **There is a Lope scene in this chapter. Don't like it? Skip to the next part.**

 **This chapter is heavily focused on Tridge, Steric and Steric´s kids(stepchildren included)**

Things happen

 **Chapter eight**

 _Steffy's car!_

After gathering a few things to take with her, Steffy managed to maneuver Kelleigh from the blanket laying on the couch into her car seat with little trouble and right now she was driving from her apartment to the Forrester Mansion to visit with her grandmother.

She was worried that her grandmother wasn't doing to good and she just needed to make sure.

She made the turn onto the driveway leading up to her grandparents house and then parked her car, got out of it and picked up the diaper bag and the carseat containing her daughter. She gives a sigh and then goes and rings the doorbell.

When her mother answers the door she can tell that this situation has drained her mother to a level where she hadn't seen her mother in since she walked out on Nick. It looked like she had no strength left.

But as soon as Taylor laid eyes on the carseat in Steffy´s hand, strength started creeping back and her eyes started sparkling again. Taylor reaches out and takes the diaperbag from her daughter and then gives her daughter a big hug.

"She's upstairs in the bedroom."

Steffy nods her head and starts taking her newly awoken daughter from the carseat. When she has Kelleigh safely in her arms, she starts walking up the stairs to see her grandmother.

She knocks on the door and waits for her grandmother to grant entrance.

" _Come in!_ " Is heard through the door and Steffy opens the door.

What she sees makes her so sad.

"Oh grandma!" She walks over to the bed and places Kelleigh in her great grandmothers arms and then walks over to the other side of the bed and crawls over to her grandmother. "How are you doing?"

"I'm not doing so good, but I am thankful for your mother, you and this little girl!" The love in Stephanies eyes as she looks down in her great granddaughters eyes is undeniable.

"That's why we're here. To take your mind off this whole situation for a little while. I'm so sorry about granddad. I have something I need to talk to you about."

"Really? What's that?" Stephanie turns her head around to look at her granddaughter with curiosity in her eyes.

"For the last two weeks, I've been thinking that I might need a bigger place, but at the moment I don't have the funds to support a house and so I've asked Thomas, Michala and Wyatt if they want to live with me."

"Okey. That's a great idea. Have you been looking for a house yet?"

"We have looked at a few houses, but the last place we looked at wasn't a house, it was a plot and I believe you know it." Steffy looks her grandmother straight into her eyes with a pointed look.

"You mean the one a few streets down?"

"That's the one! We've put in an offer and it was accepted yesterday, now we're looking for an architect and a builder."

"How is Michala doing? I know she was having a hard time after her ex got sent to prison."

"She's starting to feel safe again. Her safety is the other reason why I want to move. She doesn't feel safe in her apartment and having her live with Kelleigh and I again would take up way to much space. Having Thomas and Wyatt there will be an extra safetynet for both her, Kelleigh and I."

"That sounds like a really good plan!" Stephanie turns around and looks at her granddaughter with pride in her eyes. "What's Liam going to think about Wyatt living with the four of you though?"

"He'll understand and if he doesn't, well, that's his problem. He's married to another woman and doesn't get to say who I live with. Wyatt needed a place to live when his lease runs out, I need people to share the costs of living in a house with. Perfect solution. Win win all around. Liam get's to have his wife, I get my house and Wyatt gets a place to live. If Liam doesn't understand, that's not my problem. Anyway, Thomas drew up a sketch for the house while we were talking about it and it seems he's missed his calling. You should've seen what he could do with a piece of paper and pencil."

Steffy sighs.

"He really should've studied to become an architect. Wyatt and Michala agrees with me." Steffy chuckles a little. "Even Kelleigh agreed. Didn't you baby girl?"

At the mention of her name, Kelleigh looks towards her mothers voice and coos like she agrees with Steffy.

"See, she still agrees with me! I know he's good at designing clothes, but that house he drew from my thoughts was amazing. I should've brought it with me."

"I'll see it when I see it!" Steffy can see that her grandmother is losing her energy.

"I was wondering if maybe Kelleigh, Michala and I could live here with you until the house is finished? We want to sell out apartments as soon as possible and I was thinking that Kelleigh and I could spread a little love over here." Steffy watches her grandmother closely.

"Sounds like a good idea, it would make it easier for Thorne, Kristen and Felicia to go home to their families for a while. I feel like I've been taking up to much of their time."

"Oh, grandma, I don't think you should worry about that, if they didn't want to be here, they wouldn't be. Now, is there anything I can do for you?"

"There is actually, could you go downstairs and find Thorne, Kristen and Felicia? I need to talk to them about something."

"Absolutely, do you want me to take Kelleigh with me or do you want her to stay here a little while longer?"

"She can stay here while you go and get your aunts and uncle, then when you get back you can take her while I talk to them."

"Okey. I'll see you in a little bit." Steffy kisses her grandmothers cheek and then crawls off the bed and goes downstairs to talk to her fathers siblings.

She finds them in the office they're remodeling for Eric's sake.

"Hi!" She walks over to all three of them and gives them hugs. "Grandma wanted to see Thorne, Kristen and Felicia about something."

When she stopped talking, she had walked over to her father and gave him a hug too. He looks dissappointed.

"Why didn't she want to see me?"

"I don't know, but she's losing energy fast so we need to go up and I need to collect my baby so you four can talk."

And so all four Forresters walked up the stairs and into Stephanie and Erics bedroom.

"Mom?" Kristen looks at her mother and it seems like Stephanie has aged quite a few years over the last few days and there's confusion in her eyes when she looks up from the baby in her arms. "You wanted to see us?"

Recognition sparks in her eyes and she nods her head for her granddaughter to come and collect the baby laying in her arms.

"We'll come back in a little bit! I'm just gonna go downstairs and check on lunch!" Stephanie nods her head.

Felicia walks over and sits down on the side of the bed and holds her mothers hand in hers.

"Mom?" Felicia looks her mother in the eyes.

"I wanted to see you because I wanted to ask you something. After your father is gone, this house is going to be far to big for me to live in on my own and I wondered what you would think if I were to pass it on to Ridge and Taylor? I really don't want to live in this house without Eric and it's far to big for just one person."

Kristen is the first one to speak five minutes later.

"Since I don't actually live here in LA anymore, I don't see a reason why you shouldn't pass it on to Ridge and Taylor. Neither Felicia or Thorne lives in LA." Kristen looks to both her siblings and sees them nod.

"I think that's a great idea, but don't you need to talk to Bridget and Rick as well?"

"That's why I haven't mentioned it to Ridge or Taylor yet. I spoke to Rick about it yesterday and he said that since he never lived in this house growing up, he couldn't see any reason for why the oldest Forrester-sibling shouldn't take over the family home. With Bridget living in New York I don't see a reason why she should be against it either. But I'm going to talk to her the moment she arrives here in the house."

In the distance they hear the doorbell chiming. They also hear Taylor opening the door and then sending someone upstairs. They hear familiar footsteps and then Bridget appears in the doorway.

Bridget hadn't allowed herself to cry yet, but seeing one of her rolemodels sitting in her bed with three of her four children around her looking like the end of the world was near was to much to handle.

Watching her youngest sister fall apart, Kristen walks over and takes her in her arms.

"It's okey, just let it out!"

Stephanie, Felicia and Thorne watches the scene with tears in their eyes.

"Bridget?" Stephanie whispers when her stepdaughter has stopped crying. Bridget lifts her head up from her sisters shoulder and looks Stephanie in the eyes. "I have something I need to talk to you about."

"Okey?" Bridget is confused.

"After your father is gone, this house is going to be to big for me to live in on my own." Bridget nods her head. "I was wondering if you'd have any problems with me passing it on to Ridge and Taylor?"

"No? Why would I? It's the family home and the matriarch and patriarch are supposed to live here, when dad dies, the title of patriarch automatically passes down to Ridge as he's the oldest child and since he's married to Taylor, she becomes the matriarch of the family."

Kristen, Felicia and Thorne nods their heads in agreement.

"Okey, it's settled then! Can you go downstairs and ask Ridge and Taylor to come and see me please?"

All four siblings nods their heads.

~Things happen~

Downstairs in the kitchen, Kelleigh is laying on a blanket doing her belly time while her mother and grandmother is making lunch for all the Forresters currently in the house.

Steffy is cutting up some vegetables for a sallad and Taylor has just reduced the heat on the big pot of pasta that's cooking.

Taylor takes a peak through the doors of the oven to check on the chicken breasts and sees that they're doing fine.

She then takes out a few cans of pasta sause and pours them all in a pan to heat up with some onion and garlic as well as some other seasonings.

When Kristen and Bridget walks through the door into the kitchen, both Hamilton girls can see that Bridget has been crying.

"Hey! What's wrong?"

"Well, my dad is dying and until I walked into his bedroom just a few moments ago I hadn't really cried before, but seeing Stephanie look so weak, I just couldn't stop crying."

Steffy puts the knife down and walks over to her aunt.

"It's okey to cry about this you know, you don't have to be the strong one all the time!" Steffy brings her into her arms. "By the way, I do believe you've never met my daughter have you?"

Steffy brings Bridget around and shows her where Kelleigh is currently residing and doing little baby push ups.

"Oh my God! She's gorgeous!" Bridget brings her hand up to her mouth.

"Of course she is. Takes after her mother!" Steffy beams with pride.

Bridget looks over at her niece and a fit of laughter enters the air around them.

"Can I hold her for a little while?" Bridget looks at Steffy with pleading eyes.

"Of course, but if you pick her up now, you're on baby duty over lunch, which should be in.." Steffy looks at the clock and then towards her mother who shrugs her shoulders. "..fifteen minutes maybe?"

"That's fine by me!" Bridget then walks over to the baby and lays herself down on the floor next to Kelleigh.

"Hello! I'm your great aunt Bridget! Who might you be?"

Kelleigh sends off an glimmering smile towards the woman laying next to her.

Kristen takes the chance to tell Taylor that Stephanie wanted to see her upstairs.

Taylor leaves the kitchen after giving instructions as to what needs to happen with the food. When she reaches the door to the master bedroom she can hear that her husband is already there.

"Hello!" Taylor peaks through the door. "Kristen said you needed to see me?"

Stephanie sends of a smile towards her daughter in law.

"I do. I need to see both of you actually. I have already talked to Thorne, Kristen, Felicia, Rick and Bridget about this and they agreed that it's the way it should be done. When Eric dies, this house is going to be way to big for me to live in alone. I'm also getting old and those stairs aren't as easy to walk up anymore. So, when the will has been read, I'm passing this house onto you two."

Taylor is shocked.

"Are you sure about this?"

Stephanie nods her head with certainty.

"I am!"

"And neither of the other five had any problems with it?" Ridge is confused.

"The other option I had was to sell the house and divide the profit between the six of you, but by doing so you'd loose your childhood home and the family home. When Steffy said earlier that she, Thomas, Michala and Wyatt are building a house on the vacant lot a few streets down, I figured that having Kelleigh´s grandparents so close by would help her out. I'm going to talk to the family lawyer on Monday to have it all finalized."

"But where are you going to live?" Taylor is concerend

"Well, I was planning on moving into the guest house across the driveway."

"I really think you should stay in this house though."

"No, it's to much space for a woman my age to care for."

"Okey. You really don't have to do this though. I mean, you could give it to Steffy and Thomas? That way it would still be in the family and they were going to build a house?"

"They have a very specific building they want and this house is not it. The offer on the lot has already been accepted and they have their hooks out to find and architect and a builder."

"Okey." Taylor feels like a drained balloon. "Thank you Stephanie!"

She then looks at the clock. "So, lunch anyone?"

~Things happen~

 _Spencer Publications_

 _Liam Spencers office_

"Why are you here, Hope?" Hope flinches a little at the tone the words that are coming out of her husbands mouth carries.

"Well, it's time for lunch soon and I wanted to take my husband out to lunch!"

"Okey, but you know that this is one of the days that I have Kelleigh this week, so why would you come today?"

"Because I wanted to take you out to lunch, besides, Kelleigh´s not here yet so why not?"

"Because Kelleigh was supposed to be here ten minutes ago!"

"Well, why isn't she here then? Oh, is Steffy not letting you see your daughter?" Hope smirks at the thought.

"No, Kelleigh is at Stephanie´s house cheering them up over there because Eric was admitted to the hospital two days ago. Steffy found out a little over an hour ago and tried to reach me on my cell and my office phone, but they kept getting disconnected. You wouldn't have had anything to do with that did you?"

"Well, I wanted to spend time with my husband and if Steffy didn't know where you were, she wouldn't be able to drop Kelleigh off meaning I could spend time with my husband."

"Well, there's a problem with that plan."

"Really? What's that?" Hope looks at Liam and then raises her eye brows.

"Well, Steffy called my father and I found out from him that Kelleigh would go with Steffy to Stephanie and Eric´s house."

"Good, then you can come and have lunch with me." Hope´s eyes start to sparkle with glee thinking she had managed to make her plan fall into place real nice.

"Well.." Just the tone of his voice made the glee in her eyes disappear in an instant.

"What?" Her tone is a little harder then she meant it to be, but she couldn't help it.

"I have work to do and I've already ordered lunch. So you need to leave because right now I'm mad at you for trying to manipulate the situation. Just like you said Steffy did every chance she got. Now, leave!"

Hope opens her mouth to argue that there was no manipulation on her part, then she remembers that she admitted to denying Steffy´s calls to keep Steffy from knowing where Liam was and she just walks out of her husbands office. Liam watches her leave and sighs when she closes the door.

~Things happen~

 _Forrester Mansion_

 _Kitchen_

Steffy watches her daughter coo and smile big at Bridget while sitting in her lap with so much pride in her eyes. Kristen watches her niece´s eyes sparkle with pride as she's watching her daughter. She nudges her shoulder with her fist.

"You done good kiddo!" Steffy walks over and slides into her aunts arm for a hug.

"Well, there are people in this family that would disagree with you."

Bridget perks up at this.

"Well, mom and Hope really have no one to blame other then themselves. Well, Hope could blame a little bit on her husband, but other then that little bit, it's all on Hope and moms crazy notion that Ridge would only come back to LA for her? That's just crazy, escpecially since his children live here."

"Exactly!" Kristen agrees and Kelleigh coos her agreement to causing the three Forrester-women to laugh. "See, even Kelleigh agrees!"

"She almost always does!" Steffy sends a smile over to her aunts. "So, what did grandma want to talk to you all about?"

"Well, after dad dies, she feels that this house will be to big for her and she wanted to ask us if we had a problem with her passing the house down to your parents. Which neither of us did."

"Even Rick? That's hard to understand, especially after all the hate he's thrown dads way over the years." Steffy is so confused.

"Well, his current girlfriend seems to have calmed that down."

The timer on the stove goes off.

"Oh, time to shred some chicken!" Steffy walks over to the oven and takes the chicken out. Places each breast on a plate and shreds it before dumping it in with the pasta and pasta sauce in the big pot where the pasta was cooked. She then stirs it around a few times before dumping it into a serving bowl. She places utensils to take the pasta out of the bowl and then walks to the dining room with the food.

Kristen follows with the sallad bowl and Bridget follows with Kelleigh in her arms as well as the blanket Kelleigh had been laying on. Steffy then walks into the living room and calls out that lunch is ready.

Stephanie, Taylor and Ridge walks down the stairs and Thorne comes out from the office.

"Smells delicious!" Stephanie exclaims when she reaches the bottom step of the stairs.

Taylor and Ridge agrees with her.

Lunch is a very silent affair. The only sounds coming from the baby of the group.

"This tasted as good as it smelled. Thank you for making lunch!" Stephanie looks towards her daugther in law and her granddaughter who both says you're welcome. "How are things progressing with the office?"

The question is directed towards her two sons.

"We're almost done. The nurses are coming this afternoon right?" Thorne is the one who speaks.

"Yes, people from the agency will come as well, since they won't be hired directly by us. Have you all looked at the folders of the five they left us with after we came home from the hospital?"

"May I see those files please?" Bridget interjects.

"Of course!" Taylor nods her head.

Felicia scurries off to collect them from her bedroom. She comes down five minutes later and hands the stack of files over to her younger sister.

When they were done eating, Ridge and Thorne excused themselves to go continue working on the office while Bridget read through the files.

It takes her almost an hour.

"I like all of them, I say we use them all to lessen the burden." Bridget stretches her back as she leans back into the chair she's sitting on.

Kelleigh is asleep in one of the armchairs after being fed a bottle.

Steffy, Kristen, Felicia, Taylor and Stephanie are sitting in the livingroom.

"Yeah, I agree with that!" Felicia nods her head to Kristens agreement.

"Let's see what Ridge and Thorne says as well." Taylor sends a smile off to her mother in law. "But I agree with Bridget as well."

Both Stephanie´s nod their heads.

~Things happen~

Brooke was lounging on the couch with a book when her daughter walked through the door. She looked up when she heard the door open and could see instantly that something wasn't the way it should.

"Hi mom!" The defeat evident in her daughters voice.

"What's wrong?" Brooke places her feet on the floor to give Hope room on the couch.

"I did something stupid and I shouldn't have done it. I really shouldn't have done it."

"What do you mean?"

Hope walks over to the couch letting a sigh pass her lips.

"I knew that Liam was supposed to have Kelleigh today, but I felt like I should be able to spend time with my husband, so I wanted to take him out to lunch and so when he wasn't in his office when I got there and his phone was ringing, I saw that Steffy was calling and I thought that she was probably calling to ask where he was so I disconnected the call thinking that if she didn't get a hold of him, she wouldn't be able to drop the baby off and therefore freeing Liam to have lunch with me." Hope starts fidgeting her fingers.

"Well, I don't see the problem?"

"What I didn't think about was the fact that Steffy might call Bill to ask him where Liam was and that he'd figure out what I had done."

"So Steffy told on you?" Annoyance starts appearing on Brooke´s face at the mention of Steffy twarting her daughters plans.

"Well, technically I told on myself. Steffy told Bill that the calls had gotten disconnected but she didn't know why. However, Steffy wasn't calling to find out where Liam was, she was calling to cancel his time with Kelleigh."

"Why would she do that? Do you think she's using the baby to get close to Liam again by taking his time away from him?"

"That was my first thought when Liam told me. But no, she's not taking his time with Kelleigh away from him, Kelleigh was just needed somewhere else today and Steffy felt it was a little more important then Liam spending time with her at the moment." Small tears are gently trickling down Hope´s cheeks.

"Why? What would be more important then Liam spending time with his daughter?" The annoyance on Brooke´s face grows even more.

"Apparently Eric was admitted to the hospital two days ago and Steffy felt that Kelleigh was needed to take Stephanie´s mind off the fact that her husband was admitted to hospital and that Kelleigh would be the perfect distraction."

"Wait, what? Why haven't I been told about this?"

"How should I know? Steffy just found out this morning. I don't think a whole lot of people know." Hope places her elbows on her knees while putting her hands on her chin while leaning forward. "I don't even know if Stephanie and Eric´s children know."

"Do you think Rick knows?"

"I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised if they didn't tell him. You know how they feel about him."

"Let me call Rick and find out what he knows." Brooke starts to get up to search for her cellphone.

Hope reaches into her handbag and gets her´s out. "Here, use mine!"

Brooke makes the call and puts it on speaker. It takes four rings for him to answer.

" _Hey little sis!_ "

"Well, it's actually your mother calling." Brooke gives a chuckle at the closeness between her oldest and third child.

" _Oh! Hi mom!_ "

"Hi Rick!" Hope greets her brother.

" _Hi Hope! Was there something important you wanted to talk about or did you just call just to say Hi? I'm a little busy now with Ridge being tied up over at dads house remodeling the downstairs office for him to live in when he comes back from the hospital tomorrow._ "

"Oh, so you do know about that? It's why I was calling actually."

" _Yeah, Taylor called after they had gotten back to the house after dad was admitted to tell me about it, she said she was calling Bridget in the morning and asked if I could stop by yesterday to check out some files that they had gotten during a meeting with the agency that would provide the nurses that would help care for dad when he was released from the hospital._ "

The surprise that fills both Brooke and Hope is immense.

"What? They actually called you?"

" _Yeah, why wouldn't they? This is my father we're talking about._ "

"Well, considering what that side of the family feels about us, we're just surprised they actually called you."

" _Well, like I said, this is my father we're talking about._ "

"Yeah, you're right."

" _Yeah, so I gave my input as to who I thought would be best and then Stephanie, Taylor, Ridge, Thorne, Kristen and Felicia will decide_."

"Wait, what about Bridget?"

" _Well, I have no idea. I figured Taylor would ask if she wanted to help decide who they should hire, but I haven't talked to Bridget so I wouldn't know._ "

"Oh, okey."

" _Anyway, I have to go now because as I said, work is backing up because Ridge isn't here so if that's all you wanted?_ "

"Yeah, I'll let you go now! Good bye!"

" _Bye mom! By Hope!_ "

"Bye Rick!" Hope bids her brother good bye and her mother hangs up the phone turning to her daughter with confusion on her face.

"Maybe we should go see them?" Brooke hesitates while she's asking.

"Maybe we should." Hope starts getting up.

"But Steffy and Kelleigh will be there!" Hope tumbles down on the couch again with a groan.

"Well, maybe it's time I see them."

"Maybe. Do you think you're ready for that?"

"Well, my therapist says that it's something I need to do to more forward and try and let go of this anger I feel towards Steffy and her baby."

"What do you mean your therapist? Why do you need to see a therapist?"

Hope has a flashback to her argument with Liam when Kelleigh was just a week old.

"Because Liam said some things that really hit home and then I saw the picture Steffy posted on Instagram announcing Kelleigh´s name."

"And what exactly might that be?"

"He asked if my hatred towards Steffy trumps my love for him. Cause if it does then he didn't think we should stay married. So I decided to try and sort out my emotions and I found that the best way to do so was to talk to someone that wasn't close to the family. It's been a really good experience and has helped me to see some truths in the faults that I have. The next step is to put myself in the presence of the thing that's put the most stress on me and I believe that that's Steffy."

"Well, what or who else could it be?"

"I don't know. The only thing that's present for all of it is Steffy. But I don't know."

~Things happen~

About an hour after Bridget got done reading through the files, Ridge and Thorne walked out of the room with paint dripping down their heads.

All the women present in the livingroom starts laughing at the sight.

"What on earth happened to the two of you?" Steffy says inbetween fits of laughter.

"Well, **someone** was going to paint the shelves around the window and put the paint bucket on the ledge of the ladder he was standing on. Then in the middle of an expressive explanation he swings his arms out, hitting the bucket just as **someone** was walking past. **Someone** then came off the ladder expressing enourmous guilt that got caught in **someone´s** throat when **someone** poured another bucket of paint over **someone´s** head. Leading to this!" Thorne gives a vague explanation looking so guilty.

What this does is cause another fit of laughter.

Taylor is the one who composes herself first.

"Well, the two of you need to go take showers and clean up because the agency will be coming by within the hour to see what we've decided."

"Okey, so, what do you all think?"

Bridget composes herself.

"Well, I thought we should hire all five of the ones they gave as additions for the meeting after dad was admitted to the hospital and lessen the burden by having more then the four shifts you thought initially and then have them work in pairs as well."

Taylor looks at Bridget confused.

"You haven't mentioned them working in pairs before, that's a really good idea though!"

"Yeah, well, the nurse on the nightshift at least should have someone she or he can work with. Then they can alternate the dayshifts after that. The nightshift could be a little longer then the shifts during the days also if there are two of them. Like if you were to make the nightshift seven and a half hour long, between 10 pm to 5.30 am, the next shift could start at 5 am to do the briefing about what had happened during the night, at 10 am the next shift could start and the briefing would be between 10 am and 10.30 am, with the dayshifts five and a half hours long, giving the time to be briefed and brief the next one giving them four shifts."

All present nods their heads.

"We should write this up and give as a suggestion." Taylor nods her head. "But you two need to go get cleaned up!" She points her finger at her husband and brother in law.

Kristen goes and gets her laptop.

"We should make a spread sheat so that we can make the schedule while the agency is here."

Taylor gets off the couch and walks over to the dining table where Kristen has sat herself down and opened her laptop and the two sisters in law get to work.

Bridget and Felicia goes to sit down next to Stephanie.

"I'm so happy Taylor is here. I don't think we'd get anything done without her. There's too much emotions running through all of us to even think straight." Stephanie watches with pride as her daughter and daughter in law goes to work to have the schedule for the next to weeks partially laid out with the only thing missing is the name of the nurses that will be working there.

"I agree. She's a blessing! I'm also glad that she and Ridge found their way back to each other. " Bridget leans into her stepmother. Felicia leans into her mother also and grabs her hand to hold.

"It's an amazing sight to see isn't it?"

"Hey, I haven't asked yet how Dino is?"

"Dino is doing good, racing through school just like his mother and father although he's getting so much better grades then I ever did." Felicia smiles at her youngest sister. "How's Logan doing?"

"He's doing good, spending time with his father and stepmother at the moment." They both reach out to grab each others hand with the hand that isn't currently holding one of Stephanies.

When the doorbell rings, Bridget releases her sister and stepmother to go and open the door and Steffy returns from the kitchen after warming up a bottle with a small meal for her daughter.

Bridget is surprised when she sees who's on the other side of the door.

"Hi mom!"

To say Brooke was surprised that her daughter was opening the door to Stephanie and Eric´s house was an understatement. But she walks in and gives her daughter a hug none the less.

"Hi Bridget!" Hope walks in and the first thing she sees is the back of Steffy's head. She stiffens up and doesn't loosen up until Bridget walks over and hugs her baby sister.

Hearing Hope's voice as she's talking, Steffy decides to not say a word and just let Hope take her time.

Steffy knew that this moment wouldn't be easy for Hope and she wanted to give Hope her space. She could feel the tension radiating off the younger blonde eventhough she was standing behind her several feet away.

To make matters worse, Ridge and Thorne starts walking down the stairs just as Brooke and Hope walked through the door. Brooke of course notice instantly and starts flirting with Ridge, right infront of everyone.

Taylor just looks on with a smile on her face knowing that Ridge isn't affected at all by Brooke´s flirting with him. He looks over to his wife and sees her smiling at him so he walks over and gives her a kiss.

The rage on Brooke´s face at the clear dismissal is evident on all the people in the room.

"Oh mom, give it up already!" Everyone turned their heads to the person who's spoken up with surprise on their faces.

~Things happen~

 **AN:**

 **Well, look at that. I tried to make Brooke somewhat likeable, but she just can't help herself whenever Ridge is near.**


	9. Chapter 9

**AN:**

 **I seriously can't believe that I've reached chapter 9 of Things happen. I didn't think it would be this long. Apparently a few characters decided to not agree with that sentiment so here we are.**

 **I have realized that I haven't named Hope´s therapist yet, that's cause I don't know if the name I do choose end up being an actual therapist, but just know that the name the therapist gets is not based on a therapist that actually excists!**

 **Here's the thing, this chapter is posted as an 'I'm sorry I messed up the last chapter posting'-apology. So, here's chapter Nine of Things happen.**

 **To those who might skip the Lope-scenes, Please read the one in this chapter because it connects to the end of last chapter.**

 **As always, I do not own a single thing that has to do with the show or possible songs used.**

Things happen

 **Chapter nine**

 _The Spencer livingroom_

Bill walked through the door at 8:50 pm that night after having a really busy afternoon at the office with a lot of issues that needed to be sorted.

He walks straight over to the couch and sprawls right over it. He hears someone walking down the stairs and looks over to find his wife.

"Hi! Is Will sleeping?"

"Hi!" She walks over and gives him a kiss. "Yeah, I just put him down for the night. How are you doing? How was work?"

He repositions himself so that she can lay down beside him.

"I'm a little stressed, but it's nice to be able to leave that insanity behind for a few hours to spend them in your arms." He leans over and kisses her on the top of her head. "Just being near you reduces my stress levels so much."

"Well, I'm sorry to put another thing on your shoulders, but tomorrow is egg retrival time and you need to be there and we also need to pick who we feel should be our surrogate." Katie lays her head down on Bill´s chest, he then gives her another kiss on the top of her head.

"Should we go look at the files?" He feels her nod her head against his chest. "But let's stay like this for the next fifteen minutes first?"

"Most definitely." She gives a content sigh as her hand searches for his.

"Oh, I heard some news today that weren't the best news I've ever heard." Bill says with sadness in his voice.

"Oh, what's that?" Katie says with concern.

"Steffy called after trying to reach Liam for fifteen minutes or so to tell him that she had to cancel his time with Kelleigh today."

"Why?" Katie frowns.

"She had called her mother earlier and Taylor had told her that Eric had been admitted to the hospital two days ago and it wasn't good news, so Steffy decided to take Kelleigh with her to Stephanie and Eric´s house to distract Stephanie and keep her mind off her current situation in life."

"Oh, well, that was a good idea. I can't imagine how Stephanie must be feeling right now with her surviving her cancer and then Eric getting ill and then it turns out that it's a zero chance of survival, it must be hard and that little girl is such a good distraction. I can't imagine a better distraction then new life against the loss of an incredibly loved old man who's spent his life loving so many people."

"Mhmm."

"I can't believe I'm going to say this, but Steffy ending up pregnant might have been the thing that's going to save Stephanie so much heartache after Eric dies. Kelleigh is going to mean so much to Stephanie once he's gone."

"Yeah and now that Ridge and Taylor are married again I think she'd be quite happy to pass on the responsibility of the family to them and take a step back from everything and live her life to the fullest."

"Yeah, that's another thing that's improved life for all of us so much. I know that Rick calmed down so much the moment Ridge married Taylor because then he knew there was no chance for Brooke to get involved with Ridge again. I think that's the best thing in his life right now. I do believe though that Ridge and Taylor do belong together. This notion that Brooke has in her head is really all it is. A thing that's festered so long in her mind that she's started to believe that there's no other way it should be. It makes me sad really."

"Yeah, I understand what you're saying. During the years I've been in your life I've seen the way she throws herself at him eventhough he clearly hasn't been really interested in a relationship with her. Her desperation to tie him to her is so sad to see."

"Now, this has been a to heavy conversation to have at this time of night. Let's go and take a look at those files." Katie starts unwrapping herself from his arms, but is pulled back. So she chuckles a little before she settles back down in her husbands arms.

"We'll do that in a little bit. I want to cuddle with my wife for a little bit more before we get to the important baby-making stuff."

"Yeah, I wanna cuddle with my husband as well for a bit more. But we need to do the important baby-making stuff before our appointment tomorrow!"

"Yes, but in a little bit, not right now."

And so they spend the next fifteen minutes curled up in each others arms on the couch. After that they spent two hours trying to figure out which woman they would feel the most comfortable with carrying their child. In the end, the only thing they were sure of were which the women they weren't going to choose. Of the five women they had to choose from, they now had two women left and both Katie and Bill had things they did and didn't like about both of them.

~Things happen~

When Hope entered the door to the beach house, she saw that Liam was already there, he looks up when he hears the door open.

"Hey! Where have you been?"

"After I left your office I went to moms house and we talked about some things. Then I told her what you said about Eric and she said that we should go see them. So we did." She sees the worry fly across his face. "Don't worry. I didn't speak to Steffy other then to say hi and bye. I didn't look at Kelleigh once and I yelled at my mother."

"Why did you yell at your mother?"

Hope starts telling him what happened.

 _ **Flashback**_

 _The rage on Brooke´s face at the clear dismissal is evident on all the people in the room._

" _Oh mom, give it up already!" Everyone turnes their heads to the person who's spoken up with surprise on their faces._

" _Why?" Brooke turns to her daughter startled by the force behind her daughters words_

" _You're **seriously** asking me that? He's married mother! You cannot be angry at a man for **kissing his wife**!"_

" _Oh please, like that marriage is going to last anyway? It never has before!"_

" _Yeah, and how long has your marriages to Ridge lasted? Let's take the last one for instance. Two weeks right? Didn't even last through the honeymoon and then he runs off to **Paris** to get away from you. **Read the signs mom!** And get over it!" Hope is so frustrated. "You know what? I used to think that there was no way he wouldn't come back to you, but he's been back for months now and he hasn't seen you once on his own and he didn't even tell you he got married. You found that out from me!"_

 _Taylor has had enough._

" _ **Brooke!** Maybe it's time you leave!" Brooke goes to start arguing when she looks around and everyone including Brooke's own children is nodding their head agreeing with Taylor´s request._

" _ **Ridge!** She can't talk to me that way!" Brooke looks at Ridge with her eyes pleading him to see her side of the story._

" _Why not? Didn't you just stand there flirting with her husband? All she did was suggest you leave and I see nothing wrong with that!"_

" _ **Bridget!** "_

" _Yes? What do you need mom?"_

" _Are you really going to let them talk to your mother like that?"_

" _Yes! Why are you here mom?"_

" _We came to offer our support to Stephanie, but mom seems to think this was a chance for her to flirt with another womans husband." Hope offers an explanation._

 _Brooke huffs at her daughter._

 _Hope walks over to Stephanie to give her a hug and then she says bye to everyone._

" _Let's go mom!" Hope walks out the door after sending her mother an angry glare._

 _She goes out and sits down in her car. When her mother still hasn't come out five minutes later, she walks back into the house._

 _She sees Taylor holding her cheek a bruise slowly forming, Ridge holding his wife, Bridget staring at their mother with distain in her eyes, Kristen and Felicia are trying to keep Brooke from forcing her way back into Taylor's face. Thorne is holding Stephanie back from trying to smack Brooke in the head with her cane and Steffy is walking out from the kitchen._

" _ **Brooke Logan!** " Brooke whips around at the sound of her daughters voice. " **Get in the car! Right now!** It's all starting to make sense now."_

 _When Brooke doesn't move and having had enough of her mothers delusions Hope walks over to her mother, grabs a chunk of her hair and starts pulling her out of the Forrester Mansion. Having no other option then to follow her daughter if she wants to keep her hair, Brooke followed her daughter out to the car. Hope pulls her forward to the passenger side of the car._

" _Get in!" The venom present in Hope´s voice makes Brooke recoil in surprise._

 _Hope gets into the drivers side of the car, glares at her mother. "Do **not** say a word!"_

 _Then she picks her phone up, calls her therapist and asks if she can see her in a little over thirty minutes, she is avaliable for thirty minutes. So she hangs up and starts the car._

" _Where are..." Brooke really doesn't get far as her daughter turns her head with an expression of Don't you dare talk to me right now!-look on her face._

 _When they get to the therapist, Hope gets out of the car, goes around the car and opens the door to let her mother out. She then takes a hold on her mothers arm and pulls her with her after closing the car door and locking the car._

 _They get to the therapists office and Hope is told to walk right in. Hope pulls her mother with her and then forces her down in the chair across from the therapist._

" _Now, tell her what you did today! Tell her what you did to your 'destinys' wife! Tell her why the whole family is furious with you right now! Tell her why I feel like there's no reason why I should even think Steffy is the cause of all the stress in my life!"_

 _The therapist raises her eyebrows._

" _I didn't do anything!" Brooke looks so confused._

 _Hope just throws her hands up in frustration._

" _That's where all the stress in my life comes from. It's not Steffy at all because my mother has been present for **everything!** All of it. The stress I feel is coming from all the little things she's been whispering in my ears about everyone. The conversation we had with Rick and the bruise forming on my brothers stepmothers cheek and the way everyone looked at her when I came into the Mansion less then an hour ago made my whole world come into focus! She's the root to all of it!"_

 _The therapist looks at Hope as she's talking seeing the young woman finally coming alive. She also sees that the weight that has been put on the young woman finally leaves her and Hope having such a break through is draining her and all that's left when she's done is tears, knowing that Hope would probably need someone to hold on to, Dr Marielynn Edwards walks over to her client and pulls her into a hug. Hope holds on for dear life, but she can already tell that her world is lighter._

Liam walks over to his wife with a small smile on his lips. "So you took my suggestion seriously then?"

Hope starts giggling through her tears. "Well, the picture that Steffy posted when Kelleigh was named made me see the truth, that the little girl really is your daughter. She looks just like you, but thankfully she has Steffy´s nose."

Liam brings her into a hug. "Yeah, she also has her grandmothers eyes. She's gonna be such a heartbreaker when she grows up. I take it you've made great progress?"

"Yeah, me finally realizing that my mother has been subtly manipulating me my whole life trying to make me believe that Steffy´s side of the family is the family that's in the wrong was the break through I needed."

"I'm proud of you!"

"But just so you know, I'm not ready to spend time with Steffy or Kelleigh just yet, I need some more time."

"I know and you should take the time you need. But I'm going to spend almost the whole day with Kelleigh tomorrow."

"Of course, you didn't get to see her at all today!"

That last sentence makes him feel the shift in his wife. The anger that used to be radiating off of her every time Kelleigh or Steffy was brought up is gone, but the sadness isn't and that's what Hope got left to work on. Coming to grips with her feelings about her husband having a child with his ex.

~Things happen~

The next day, Taylor, Ridge, Stephanie and Katie and Bill meet each other in front of the hospital. Katie recoils back when she sees the bruise on Taylor´s cheek.

"Hey! What happened to you?"

"Your sister did. She decided that I stood in the way of her and her destiny after he had specifically told her that there were no feelings there left from his side of their relationship and she got pissed." Taylor raises her hand to her cheek.

Katie´s eyebrows raises in surprise and then after thinking about it, she realizes that Brooke has always been violent when people stand in the way of her and her current destiny.

"Hope came back in and yelled at her then pulled her out by her hair when she didn't leave on her own. What happened after that I have no idea."

"Oh, well, I'm sorry she hit you! Are you okey otherwise?"

"Yeah, Kristen and Felicia grabbed her and held her back before she could do any more and I'm not really surprised she got that way, it's her automatic respons when things don't go her way."

They all walk into the hospital.

"What are you two doing here?"

Katie sends a small smile her husbands way. "It's egg retrieval day today!"

Bill puffs her chest up causing Ridge to laugh at him.

"Let's hope for a daughter shall we?" Ridge says inbetween laughter causing Bill to start lauging too, causing the women to look at each other confused.

"Are you here to take Eric home?" Katie sends a small smile Stephanie´s way.

"Yeah, it's gonna be so nice to have him home. We're done with the remodeling, nurses have been hired and schedules have been made. We wanted to have a nurse with us now and she's meeting us in the office of the doctor who's been treating Eric these last few days getting some information right now about Eric´s current health." Taylor explains.

"That's good!"

"Yeah, so we're gonna go get that done and you better lay some eggs Katie!" Ridge looks at Katie with laughter in his eyes.

"I'll try to!"

"Let's meet up for dinner later!"

"Sounds good!" Katie accepts Taylor´s invitation. "I'll talk to you later!"

Taylor nods her head and then they split up.

Both appointments go well and just an hour or so later, both Katie and Eric are sitting in a car on their way home.

~Things happen~

Steffy had stopped by Liam´s office at eight am that morning dropping Kelleigh off to see her father and it had been a quick visit.

Steffy had heard rumours that work was backing up at the office that she needed to get on with and after that she was going to go see her grandfather leaving Kelleigh with Liam for about ten hours before coming back to Liam's office just after 6 pm to collect her daughter.

She knocks on the door to his office and enters when he comes in.

"Hey! Did you get everything done you need to do?"

"I did and it was a great feeling leaving the office when the pile of stuff I needed to take care of had vanished. Granddad looked relaxed when I went to see him and he looked a little healthier. Maybe taking the stress off grandma to take care of him reduced his own stress to the point where he's slowly getting a little less sick. We know he's not going to make it, but it felt good seeing him look a little better."

"That's good." Liam sends a smile her way.

"I have something I need to talk to you about. It in part concerns your brother."

"Okey." Liam looks confused.

"It's partly because I need a bigger place and I asked my brother and Michala if they would like to move in with me in a house and they agreed. The other part is that Michala doesn't feel safe. Anyway, while we were talking, Wyatt asked if he could move in as well as his lease runs out about the same time as Thomas´s does and so Michala and I will sell our apartments and move in with my grandparents for a little while during the construction of the house and then Kelleigh, Michala, Thomas, Wyatt and I will move into a house a little bit from granddad and grandmas house."

"Okey, sounds like a good plan to me." Liam smiles at his ex. "Thank you for telling me!"

"Thank you for not saying that Wyatt can't live there!"

"Why wouldn't he be able to live there? I think it's a good idea, especially if his lease is running out."

"That's good! Thomas made a beautiful sketch of the house that we're going to be showing the architect who's going to design the house for the builder to build."

"That's great!" There's a genuine smile on Liam's lips so Steffy knows he's telling the truth.

"Good, how has your day been?"

"It has been really good. There's been a lot of ooh-ing and awe-ing around the office today when I walked around with Kelleigh in the Baby Bjorn trying to get everything I needed for everything that needed to be done. It's been a good day!"

"That's great!"

"I heard what happened yesterday. Are you doing okey?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, it's nothing I haven't seen before. I was surprised though that she did it in front of her so called Destiny. I also have never seen Hope so angry and it looked like something clicked in her eyes when she saw her mother being held back by my aunts and the bruise forming on my mothers cheek. I can't imagine what happened after they left in that car."

"Well, it's not my story to tell, but when Hope came back home last night, she looked so much calmer and she was so much happier then when I left yesterday morning. She needed what happened yesterday to happen."

"I can say it was a good thing to happen then!" Steffy sends a smile off to Liam. "Tell her I'm happy for her!"

"I most definitely will!"

"Anyway, I'm hungry so I'm just going to grab my daughter and head on home. I believe Michala has made lasagna for dinner and there's no way I'm missing out on that!"

"Sounds delicious!" Liam walks over and gives Steffy a hug before handing over the diaper bag and going to the room through the other door of his office to collect his daughter, who's peacefully sleeping in the stroller.

"Thank you! Bye!"

"Bye Steffy!"

After Steffy and Kelleigh are gone, Liam decides to go home as well.

~Things happen~

Katie spent the rest of the day in bed with Bill bringing her lunch and dinner. It was a nice change of pace for both of them and they realized what it was that made them fall in love with each other in the first place. Between Bill´s hectic situation at work and Katie being home with Will, they had somewhat drifted apart since Will was born, but somehow, the making of their newest addition to the family had brought them closer.

"Don't you think it's strange that Brooke hasn't called yet? I mean, whenever she's got mantrouble, she always calls to pick my brain about it." She's currently eating from a bowl with yoghurt and some mixed berries while Bill is sitting at the foot of the bed giving her a footrub.

"What I think is strange is the fact that she didn't bust through our door yesterday after she left Stephanie and Erics house to come and get some sympathy from you because big bad Ridge wouldn't leave his wife for her because you know he doesn't love her like he loves Brooke!"

"Point taken, yeah, that's strange as well. I really don't understand what she's thinking about. Punching the guy´s _**wife**_ because _**he**_ won't leave her? I just don't get it. But she does have a tendency to get violent when things don't go her way. I mean, she slapped me after finding out about Nick and I´s baby and I'm pretty sure that Steffy has received a few slaps or punches as well. Taylor I know for sure has gotten slapped more times then just yesterday and I've walked in on her slapping both Donna and mom when we were younger. I believe Storm even got his fair share of beat downs." Katie puts the bowl on her bedside table. "She was the most popular girl in school until her violent tendencies started showing up and she put two girls in the ER over the course of a week. When things don't go the exact way that Brooke has planned, she slaps and punches. I'd say there's been a few out right fights between her and who ever has been standing in her way."

"Ever since I came into your life, there's been this dark cloud over Brooke, I always thought it was because of Stephanie´s determination to get Brooke out of her life, but maybe Stephanie has sensed Brooke´s cloud and didn't want that in her life and that's why. I mean, Brooke practically forced her way into Stephanie´s family by getting pregnant by Eric. Then, as if that wasn't enough, Donna did the same, first by using Thorne to get back at Stephanie and then when that didn't work, she went after Eric. I'm pretty sure you, Bridget and Hope are the only Logans Stephanie actually likes." Bill starts working on her other foot.

"Oh!" She sighs. "That feels so good."

"What? Knowing that Stephanie likes you or the footrub?" Bill chuckles.

"Well, both to be honest. I think that one of the reasons Stephanie likes me is the fact that Taylor and I have never had any issues that doesn't have it's roots in something Brooke has done. All mine and Taylor´s issues has always had Brooke at the root of them. Then when the BRT-triangle ended when Ridge left Brooke during their honeymoon, all our issues are just gone. Taylor has always been a good judge of character, I'm thinking she's seen the cloud over Brooke as well."

"How are you feeling?"

"It hurts less, so I'm thinking I might want to take a small walk in the hallway for a while and then I want dinner and then you can go to Liam and Hope and pick our boy up! I need my Will cuddles!"

"Okey, I'll help you get out of the bed and then I'll go downstairs to put the in the pizza order and then while you walk around the hallway I'll go and get our son, hopefully I'll be back before the pizza arrives!"

"Good plan! That way I get to eat with my son!" Katie smiles brightly at her husband.

"Hey! What about me?" He starts turning her around so that her feet touches the floor.

"Oh, I totally forgot that I'm married. I'm sorry!" She places a kiss on his lips as he pulls her off the bed.

"So, how does it feel standing up?" Concern evident on his face.

"It feels okey actually, I might have been a baby about all this."

"Well, the doctors said that you needed to take it easy and to start gently moving about when you stop hurting and I'd say that's about now. So, no need to down talk youself, you're just following doctors orders!"

"Thank you for saying that!" Katie smiles as she's walking around the bed. "Now, go get our son!"

He starts walking for the stairs and looks back as Katie walks out of their bedroom into the hallway. Katie looks up and sees him still standing there so she shoos him away, he just chuckles and then goes down stairs to call in their order and then go and get their son.

Just as he closes the front door however, she stumbles, falls with her left side into the dresser that stands between the door into the bedroom and the guestbedroom and as she's laying on the floor, she doubles over from the pain and then her whole world goes black.

Thankfully, eventhough Bill is not that far away, Steffy had decided to talk to her daugthers other set of grandparents about the build of the house that night and so when she knocks on the door, no one comes to open it and getting concerned as there are lights on inside the house, she checks if the door is unlocked, which it is, so she walks inside the house, calls out for Bill or Katie and when no one answers, she puts the carseat containing her daughter and the diaperbag on the floor and walks up the stairs as she knows Katie has had minor surgery today.

When she gets up the stairs, she's shocked, but jumps into action calling for an ambulance and then calling Bill knowing that since he's not home, he's probably getting their son from Liam´s place. When Bill doesn't answer the phone, she calls Liam. His phone goes straight to voice mail and knowing that there's no other option and hearing the ambulance coming, Steffy calls Hope.

" _Hello!_ "

"Please please please don't hang up! Can you tell me if Bill has already left?"

" _Steffy?_ "

"Yes, it's Steffy! I'm at his house right now, can you tell me if Bill has left yet?"

" _Why are you at his house?_ "

"That is so not important right now, just tell me if he's left already? Because if he hasn't he needs to come to the hospital where Katie had her surgery today because we're leaving in just a little bit! I came here and she was laying on the floor and I couldn't make her respond to me."

" _He's just on his way out the door!_ " Steffy can hear Hope calling out to Bill that Steffy needs to talk to him.

When Bill comes to the phone, Steffy tells him what she had just told Hope and that he should probably leave Will were he is at the moment because he really doesn't need to experience this right now, she also tells him that she has her daughter with her and she'll be coming with in the ambulance.

Within ten minutes of the ambulance arriving, Steffy, Kelleigh and Katie are in the ambulance, Kelleigh riding in the passenger seat with the seatbelt holding her carseat in as it took to long to install the carrier.

Ten minutes after that, Katie is being wheeled into surgery and Steffy is standing in the hallway outside of the room Katie had been examined in before the operating room-order had been called with small tears flowing down her cheeks.

Bill and Liam comes flying through the doors of the ER and sees Steffy standing in the middle of the hallway and both of them come running down the hallway to talk to her.

"What happened?"

"I don't entirely know, but there were talks of a bleeding in her abdomen caused by the needles that did the retrival this morning. I'm guessing the doctors will know more once they've checked her out."

"But she looked just fine when I left!" Bill starts scratching his head in confusion.

"Yeah, well, if could've been pressed together while laying down and then when she got up the pressure decreased and the blood just poured out of the wound. There's no way of knowing."

Liam feels a little left out, so he asks Steffy if he should take Kelleigh home with him while Steffy stays here to help Bill in case he needs it.

"Wouldn't it be better if you stayed though?" Steffy asks with confusion on her face.

"Well, we've got a one year old at home and Hope hasn't been alone with him without me ever before and I don't know how she's coping. Besides, I don't know if I'd be much help in this situation as I'm freaking out just as much as dad is. It would seem you are more clear headed then I am right now and I think that dad needs that more then me right now."

"Yeah, maybe. Okey. Kelleigh should be sleeping for a little bit longer but after that she needs a feed and a diaper change. After that tummy time is scheduled for 30 minutes. You know her schedule already. Just keep up with that."

"Okey! I'll see you when you pick her up!"

"I'll probably stay here until tomorrow if I'm needed. When Katie is taken to her room I'll probably just stay a little longer and then go home and take a nap. Wyatt, Michala and Thomas are coming over tomorrow to check out some architects and builders."

This is news to Bill so he starts paying attention. "Hey, why are you talking about architects and builders?"

"Wyatt, Michala, Thomas and I are building a house on a plot a few streets from Grandma and Granddads house. It's what I was coming to talk to you about when I got to your house. Anyway, let me get my phone and wallet out of the diaperbag and we'll let you go home. Maybe you should call your wife and prepare her for Kelleigh coming home with you so she's not blindsided when you walk through the door."

"Yeah, that's a good idea. I'll do that once we're in the car."

"I'll call you when I need you to come get me and take me to my car at your fathers house."

Liam nods his head.

Bill and Liam had taken Liam´s car in case Steffy would need to stay as Liam had the thing to put the carseat in in case Kelleigh would need to come with him home or if Steffy needed to get back to Bill and Katies house to collect her car.

When Liam walks out of the ER with his daughter in the carseat and diaperbag thrown over his shoulder, Steffy stands there looking after him.

"She'll be fine!" Bill reassures his former daughter in law.

"Yeah, I know, but I'll miss her so much."

"I know. But you'll see her soon!"

"Yeah, let's focus on your wife right now!" Bill just nods.

So they walk into the waitingroom to wait for news, Steffy takes the time to send a few texts to the people she'd be meeting tomorrow to postpone the meeting. She gets a response from Michala saying that Thomas is currently with her and they would go and get her car and come get her tomorrow, so she sends a text back that Kelleigh is currently with Liam and that she'd need to go and get her daughter as well.

When Michala responds, she wonders if Steffy wanted them to go collect Kelleigh and bring her to the apartment and Michala and Thomas would stay at Steffy´s that night. Steffy replied that they could call Liam and ask him what he thought about it. Ten minutes later, Michala replied and said that Liam thought it might be a good idea for Michala and Thomas to come and get Kelleigh because Hope wasn't handling being so close to the baby very well.

Wyatt responds saying that he'll meet them at the hospital in about half an hour to lend his father some strength.

"Wyatt will be here soon." Steffy relays what Wyatt told her in the text to his father. "Thomas and Michala will be picking up my car and getting Kelleigh from Liam and Hope´s house, apparently Hope isn't doing to good. It had been fine when Kelleigh was still sleeping, but the moment she woke up, something happened and Hope just refuses to look at the girl and is neglecting Will. But it'll be alright after my brother gets to the beach house and gets my daughter."

"Okey! As long as everyone is doing good."

Steffy gets a text from Wyatt asking where they are, so she sends a text back telling him they're in the waitingroom of the ER. Five minutes later, Wyatt walks into the waitingroom and sees them instantly so he walks over and sits down on the other side of his father.

~Things happen~

Ten minutes later, Thomas is collecting Steffy´s car from Bill and Katie´s house after Michala dropped him off, just before getting out of the car Thomas told her that he would go and get Kelleigh while Michala went and got everything ready at the apartment.

So while Michala went to Steffy´s apartment to rip the bedding off Steffy's bed in order to place her own on it, Thomas was driving over to the beach house to collect his niece.

He walks up the walkway to the house and rings the doorbell. The door opens and he can see that Hope has been crying.

"Hey! Just let it take it's time, this was just to soon." He gives her a hug and then let's her go. "Now, where is my beautiful niece?"

Hope just points to the guestroom. "Knock on the door. Liam is inside with both kids. I couldn't handle Kelleigh being so close."

Thomas nods his head and watches Hope walk into the bedroom. When she's safely inside, Thomas walks over to the door to the guestroom and knocks on it. When no one answers, he gently opens the door and walks into the room. What he sees makes him smile.

Will is laying on his stomach across the bed looking at his niece with an adoring smile on his lips, Kelleigh is laying on the bed doing tummy time and Liam is sitting in the armchair in the corner watching the two children on the bed.

Liam´s head whips up when the door opens. "Oh, you're here now?"

"Yeah, Hope let me in. She's currently hiding in the bedroom. I knocked on the door, but you didn't notice so I just opened the door. I have Steffy´s car with me so we're good to go!"

"Thank you! With her break through yesterday I thought it would be easier, but her seeing me spend all my attention on my daughter was just to much. I didn't even think about asking you to come get her. I can't put my wife through that kind of stress when she's not ready to meet my daughter yet."

"Yeah, I totally understand. So how are you doing with all this?"

"I don't know, I'm so happy to have my wife back, but I'm even more happy to have my daughter in my house. But I know it's not going to happen again just yet. It was just to soon and I should've thought about calling you to remove the stress it put on my wife."

"Yeah, well, when Steffy sent that text and Michala had this feeling that Hope wasn't doing so well, we knew we had to come and get Kelleigh so we called you and you know what happened after that. But, we're pretty tired and we need to get to bed."

"Yeah, let's get her ready to go home."

So they get everything ready and then Thomas secures her in the carseat and puts it in the car and then he goes home to his sisters apartment where his girlfriend is currently working on warming the bottle for Kelleigh´s pre bedtime feed.

He gets to the apartment complex just as the bottle is ready and walks through the door with a pretty sleepy little almost three months old. He walks in and places the carseat on the couch, then he walks over to the girl who turned into his girlfriend so slowly but he wouldn't have it any other way to give her a kiss.

"Hey!" Michala turns her head up to meet his lips.

"She's almost sleeping so she might not need the whole bottle."

"Okey! That's good! Let's feed her what she wants and then put her to bed. You also need to tell your sister that you have her baby in your eyesight!" Michala takes the bottle and walks over to the baby as Thomas sends a message to his sister.

~Things happen~

Three hours after they took Katie into surgery, the doctors come out and informs Bill that Katie lost a lot of blood, but they did manage to control the bleeding and that she should be fine. They do need to keep her for observation for the next two days, but everything should be fine. Their initial thoughts had been right as they found a laceration on one of her organs.

Bill´s reaction was to pass out, wether it was because he was happy his wife was okey or that the surgery they had willingly put her through had caused this was causing him guilt was to be undetermined, but he got a bed right next to his wife in the recovery room until he woke up, after that he was parked in a chair next to her bed until she woke up.

She wakes up silently and sees Steffy standing by the foot of the bed. "Well, look at you, giving us so many scares in such a little time!"

Steffy smiles.

"Oh, I'm sorry? All I remember is walking in the hallway, falling into the dresser and then so much pain after that I blacked out."

"I think I found you within five minutes of you falling so you got to the hospital really fast. The needle missed it's mark during the retrival this morning and the cut was apparently managed quite well by your body until you fell into the dresser and it started bleeding. But you should be just fine, they do want to keep you for observation for the next two days though."

"How long have I been out?"

"Not that long, about five hours."

"Where's my son?"

"He's with Liam and Hope, Bill was on his way back from picking Will up when I tried calling them, neither Bill or Liam answered their phone so I called Hope and caught Bill just as he went to leave with Will. Liam and Bill came in Liam´s car so he brought Kelleigh home with him."

"How did Hope feel about that?"

"Liam called her on his way home from the hospital and she had no problem with it as long as Kelleigh was sleeping, but then she woke up and took so much of Liam´s attention and Hope didn't feel comfortable. Thomas and Michala went to get my car over at your place and then go and pick up my daughter. Hope seems to have calmed down since Thomas left so it's alright again. Will is snoozing away in Hope and Liam´s guest bedroom and they're both okey."

"That's good. When did he fall asleep?" Katie nods to her husband.

"About an hour ago."

"Let's let him sleep then."

"I'm going to go and ask if you can have something to eat, maybe yoghurt or something like that. Easily digested. I'll see you soon!"

"Yeah! I was having pizza today."

"Yeah, about that, Thomas said that there was pizza boxes by the front door when they got there, he brought them with him to Hope and Liam."

Katie nods her head and says she'll see Steffy later.

Steffy leaves the room and walks up to the nurses station and asks them if Katie could have something to eat. Which she could so Steffy goes to the store across the street and buys a little tub of youghurt and a banana.

When she comes back into the room, Bill still hasn't woken up and Katie is almost falling asleep again. Steffy walks to the other side of the bed and then gently shakes Katie back from her semi-sleeping state.

"Eat this before you fall asleep again!" Steffy hands over the yoghurt and banana.

Katie eats both foods offered and then she falls right back asleep.

~Things happen~

 **AN:**

 **Yeah, so, this was the chapter where Eric was supposed to pass away, but Katie disagreed with me and I am starting to get pissed at all these characters disagreeing with me.**

 **Eric was supposed to die just before the IVF-doctors were supposed to fertilize Katie´s eggs. But, Katie´s eggs are already fertilized and Eric is still alive.**

 **I'm thinking Eric wants one last Christmas Carrol and one last New Years-martini, so I'm going to give him what he wants. I mean, Christmas is only one month away and New Years is a week after that.**

 **It's going to be one gigant Christmas celebration.**

 **Katie and Bill still haven't chosen their surrogate yet, so I'm going to make them do so in the next chapter.**

 **I would like to know what you'd name Thomas and Michala as a couple?**


	10. Chapter 10

**AN:**

 **As ALWAYS I do not OWN a single thing in regards to the show, if I did, Brill NEVER would have happened and Brooke would've learned something from the last time she couldn't wait until she'd lured one of her relatives men away from them(Nicket). I am not counting Broliver because I believe that it was an accident on both their parts, although both of them should've known better!**

 **I've been having a little bit of a writersblock for Things happen since finishing chapter Nine, but hopefully that's over for now at least.**

 **I got a review from Soapfanatic24 in regards to who Steffy will end up with. I had a thought about a character that comes into the story in this chapter. But Steffy decided that he's not it for her so he's not it. Unfortunately I'm not entirely sure who she'll end up with, but it is NOT someone with the last name Cooper/Spencer/Fuller. Wyatt´s love interest makes an appearance in this chapter along with who was supposed to be Steffy´s potential love interest, but as always, Steffy decided differently. I have this vision in my head, but he's currently name- and faceless so I can't tell you who it is. At this point however, it seems likely that he's a completely new character.**

Things happen

 **Chapter ten**

 _December 2nd 2013_

 _Bill and Katie Spencers home_

Katie had been released from the hospital early that morning and right now she was tucked in under a blanket on the daybed in Will´s playroom watching her husband and son play on the floor.

"How are you doing?" Bill looks up to see his wife having woken up after a small nap.

"Just tired and a little sore, but I feel better then I did yesterday."

"That's good. Are you going to be okey to meet the women today?"

"Yes, thankfully Steffy and Wyatt have agreed to sit with us as well so that we have more ears listening in."

The doorbell rings signaling the arrival of their former daughter in law.

"I'll just go open the door." Bill raises from the floor to go and open the door.

A little bit later, Steffy walks through the door with her daughter in the carseat.

"Hey! How are you doing?" Steffy places the carseat on the floor and then walks over to give Katie a hug before walking back to her daughter to take her out of the carseat and placing her on the blanket that had covered Kelleigh when they entered the room.

"Tired, a little sore, but okey otherwise."

"I'm guessing that's expected after having major abdominal surgery a few days ago. So, are you ready to meet the woman who's going to be carrying your baby?" Steffy divides her attention between her daughter, Will and Katie.

"Yes, I'm so ready!"

"Have you heard anything from Brooke?"

"I haven't actually, which is weird. I take it you haven't either?" Katie starts to show signs that she's tired and since it's about half an hour to forty five minutes left until the agency comes over, she's got time for a little nap.

"No, I haven't. You look a little tired, maybe you should take a nap?" Steffy searches Katie´s face for a little bit. "Yes, you need a nap!"

Steffy calls out to Bill and when he gets there, she tells him that Katie should be put in the guest bedroom next to the kitchen for a nap, so he picks her up and carries her there.

Katie falls asleep as soon as the covers have been tucked around her.

Twenty five minutes into her nap, the doorbell rang again and Bill opened the door to find his son standing on the other side.

" _Hi! Katie is sleeping currently so we need to be quiet. Steffy is in the playroom with Will and Kelleigh so you can go there and wait for the agency people to get here!_ " Bill gives him a hug and then walks to check on his wife.

Wyatt stays behind to watch his father go to the guestroom downstairs and then he turns to go see Steffy, Kelleigh and his youngest brother.

"Well, well. Funny seeing you here!" He says with a chuckle.

"Yeah, I can say the same about you!" Steffy gets up off the floor to give him a hug.

Wyatts eyes automatically wanders over to his niece.

"Hey, you didn't tell me you were coming too when I spoke to you on the phone earlier, little one!"

Kelleigh searches for the voice and a big smile breaks out on her face when she sees her uncle and she coos.

"Okey, I forgive you!"

Kelleigh blinks and then yawns.

"Oh, is it naptime for little one?" He walks over to her and picks her up taking the blanket with him as he does.

In the meantime, Steffy has arranged the blanket Katie had been laying under when she got there to form a barrier on each side of the baby and then catching the blanket when Wyatt let go of it as he walked past. He places Kelleigh in the middle of the blanket and then Steffy hands him Kelleigh´s blanket once more and he lays it on top of his niece.

Steffy goes and picks Will up after he shows signs of being tired as well. She sits down in a chair and feels his breath even out at the same time her daughter falls asleep.

"Could you go and get the pack n' play from the livingroom so I can lay him down?"

Wyatt just nods his head and walks to get the pack n' play.

As he's walking back the doorbell rings again and so he goes and opens the door. On the other side there are three women.

"Hello! Are you from the agency?"

The woman dressed in a pair of black pants, a white shirt and a grey cardigan nods her head.

"Yes, we are. I do believe that you're not the Mr Spencer we're here to see though?"

"Well, technically you are, but I do believe that my father is the Mr Spencer that has enlisted your help. Now, I need to free my former sister in law from my brother and put her daughter to bed in a less dangerous place then the daybed in the playroom. You can just sit down on the couch and wait if you want? I believe my father is waking up his wife from her nap currently."

"Or we could come with you?"

"Sure, come with me!"

He walks back to the playroom and hears the three women follow him.

"Steffy! We have visitors!" He says as he enters the playroom with the pack n' play.

Steffy looks up from the little head she's been caressing waiting for Wyatt to come back.

"Oh, you're back! Good!" She then gets up from the chair as Wyatt sets the pack n' play up and then lays Will down in it.

Wyatt has gone to get her daughter while she lays Will down and he lays her down next to her uncle.

This is the point where Steffy turns towards the visitors.

"Hello!" She reaches her hand out to all three women, who each shakes it when it's their turn. "How are you all doing?"

All three women say they're doing okey.

"Good, should we go see if Mr and Mrs Spencer are ready?"

All three women nods their head at Steffy´s question.

"I'm Steffy Forrester by the way. This is Wyatt Fuller Spencer and you have just seen Will Spencer and Kelleigh Forrester-Spencer." Steffy starts walking back to the front door.

The woman from the agency introduces herself as Audrey and the two women that came with her as Katherine and Deliah.

They meet Bill just as they walk around the corner into the livingroom.

"How´s Katie doing?"

"She's so tired so she's going to sleep a little longer. Anyone want a cup of coffee and some cookies?" All five other people nod their heads. "Will and Kelleigh sleeping?"

Both Wyatt and Steffy nod their head.

"Are you two staying for dinner after?" Bill asks.

"Depends how long this will take." Steffy answers.

Wyatt however accepts the invitation as he doesn't have a nearly three month old to care for.

A cup of coffee later, Katie calls out for her husband to help her, as Bill goes to help her, Steffy decides to explain the situation for the women.

"I want to give you a heads up about the situation." All three women nods their heads. "On Friday, Katie and Bill went and did the egg retrival and for some reason, the needle ended up somewhere it shouldn't be and caused a slash in one of her internal organs. Katie followed the doctors orders and stayed in bed the rest of the day. However about eleven hours after the retrival, Katie felt good enough to start walking around and so she walked for a while in the hallway while Bill went and got their son. Somehow Katie lost her balance and fell into a dresser causing the slash to start bleeding again and she passed out. Katie was taken to the hospital and taken into surgery to fix what ever was wrong with her and then they kept her for observation over the weekend. She was released this morning and she's been sleeping on and off since then. So if she starts getting tired, she's just getting tired. It's the reason why Wyatt and I are here, we'll give our opinion on who we think is the best fit because Bill and Katie might be to wrapped up in Katie´s energy levels."

Just as she finish talking, Katie and Bill returns.

"So, which one of you will be carrying my baby?" Katie attempts to joke.

However, only one of the women raise her hand.

"Well then, that was simple enough." Katie sighs. "Can you please bring me back to bed?"

"Guestroom or our bed?"

"Guestroom please, but do come and get me when you go to bed." Bill nods his head and helps her go back to the guestroom.

"Well then, I'm guessing this meeting is done." Steffy declares.

The woman from the agency agrees.

"So, do you want to stay for dinner?" Steffy asks the woman who raised her hand.

"Sure. Sounds good to me!" She nods her head. "This way I can get to know you all a little more."

"Well then, Kathrine. This is where I leave you for now, we'll have a meeting a little later when Katie is feeling better to sign the papers." The woman from the agency announces. "I'll call tomorrow to see when we can get together with the Spencers to sign the papers."

"I'll be expecting your call! Thank you so much!"

Bill returns and says he'll be expecting it as well. Bill and Katherine shakes Audrey´s hand and then Bill shakes Deliah´s as well.

"Good, I'll speak to you tomorrow!"

Wyatt then walks with Audrey and Deliah to the door.

"Have a nice evening!" Wyatt says with a smile and both women tells him the same, then they leave.

He then walks back.

"So, what's going on with that house of yours?" Bill asks when his son is back.

"The architects we've seen have all loved the design that Thomas did for the outside of the house, but neither of them felt right to do the house so we're at a bit of a standstill." Wyatt explains.

"Michala, Kelleigh and I are moving in with grandma and granddad next weekend and there are showings over at Michalas and my place all week this week." Steffy smiles at her daughters grandfather. "But I do believe we're here to get to know Katherine?"

Steffy looks across the table with an apologetic smile.

"Oh, it's okey, I'm here to get to know you and the easiest way for me to get to know people is for them to talk about everyday-stuff and I might jump in here and there." Katherine explains. "I do however have a question. What's this house you're talking about?"

"My brother, his girlfriend, Wyatt here, my daughter and I are building a house." Steffy starts the explanation off.

"And you've met a few architects that you haven't really clicked with?"

Both Steffy and Wyatt nods their heads.

"What if I told you that my brother is an architect, would you consider meeting with him?"

"Sure! When do you think he'd have time to meet us?" Steffy smiles at the thought.

"Does he have a builder that he often works with?"

"I'd have to ask him, but I'm pretty sure he'd be able to meet you whenever." Katherine sends off a smile to the young woman on the other side of the table. "He does have a builder he works with.." she laughs a little. "..he kind of have to since she's his little sister."

"Do you think we could meet with both of them today?"

Katherine nods her head to Bill's question.

"Would you like me to call them now and see if they're avaliable?"

"Could you?" Steffy sees Katherine nod and then turns to Bill. "Do you think Kelleigh and I could stay here tonight? I think this might take some time and we need to discuss this deeply."

"Absolutely, but don't you think Thomas and Michala should be here too?"

"Yeah, but I don't see a reason to call them until we know if they're avaliable."

Katherine takes this as her sign to pick her phone up and call her siblings. Five minutes later, she walks back through the door.

"They can be here within the hour. Derek will be bringing the stuff he needs to make the plans and Jessica will be bringing her assortements of materials she uses while building."

"Sounds good! I'll go call my brother, he's probably with Michala right now so I'll catch two birds with one cage."

Steffy walks away to call her brother.

"Hey, you might wanna consider either making more food or order take out, we'll have some hungry mouths here soon." Wyatt indicates to his father.

"Yeah, might be a good idea." Bill heads off to the kitchen to find the number to the pizza place leaving Katherine and Wyatt behind.

"So, how come you want to be a surrogate?" Wyatt looks at her with interest in his eyes.

"I decided long ago that I wanted to help women realize their dreams of having a family and although I do not want a child of my own, I've always wanted to experience a pregnancy. Helping your father and his wife will help me achieve my dreams. Help someone and experience a pregnancy. I'll gladly do it again for them if this works out the best way it can."

Wyatt nods his head as he considers the answer he was given.

"I know that it's custom for surrogates to have children of their own to prove that they can carry a pregnancy to terms, but I have been through tests to check that I'm healthy and there are no problems that could cause issues. I'm really looking forward to this and hope that it works out."

"It's nice to know that you're in it for the long haul, well, atleast the next year or so."

"Thank you for your support!" Katherine sends a small smile towards the young man.

Steffy comes back.

"Where did Bill go?" Before she gets an answer there's sound coming through the baby monitor. "Never mind, I got to go see my daughter and her uncle."

She walks off again, she comes back about ten minutes later with Kelleigh in her arms and Will walking by her side.

"Wy wy!" Will takes off to be with his older brother and Steffy sits down in the chair she occupied just before going to call her brother.

"He's been changed and should be good for now, a little hungry though."

Wyatt picks his youngest brother up. "Oh, should we go see if there's any fruit in the kitchen? Make a little oatmeal maybe?"

Will nods his head against his brothers shoulder.

"Can you bring me a banana or something? Kelleigh needs to eat and I should've eaten an hour or so ago."

Wyatt nods his head. "I will, dad has ordere a."

"Oh, maybe just an orange then?"

"Yes my lady!" This causes both of them to laugh and both brothers laugh all the way to the kitchen.

When they've left, Steffy drapes a scarf over her shoulder to shield her daughter while feeding.

"So, what do you think of what you've seen so far?" Steffy looks underneath the scarf to check on why her daughter wasn't doing what she should be doing.

"Well, it looks like this is the perfect couple to help make their wish come true."

"They are, Katie isn't able to carry another baby due to the complications during Will´s birth."

"I read through their file, but it didn't specify the reason why they wanted to work with a surrogate."

"I think this is a story that Katie and Bill needs to tell you, I don't think I'm the one to tell you."

Bill walks back to the livingroom.

"Tell Katherine what?"

"About Will´s birth and the reason it went bad." Steffy looks at Bill with sadness in her eyes. "I know it's difficult for you both to tell it so if you want to, I'll do it for you."

"I don't think I can tell it right now, not with everything that happened this weekend, so I'm going to go check on my wife and you can tell the story." He then walks over and gives Steffy a kiss on the top of her head.

"Give Katie my love if she's awake!" Steffy waits for Bill to reach the guest bedroom before starting to tell Katie´s story.

"Katie Logan Spencer was born as the youngest sibling of four, one older brother and two older sisters. She was closest to her brother and it proved that they almost had the exact same DNA. Her older sisters were popular in school, had good grades and due to them being less then a year apart, her oldest sister was born in January and her youngest sister was born in December, they did everything together, them being so close is the reason Katie and Storm got so close."

Steffy feels that Kelleigh has stopped nursing and so changes side.

"I'm not really sure how old Katie was, but I think she was between three and five when her father left them leaving Mrs Logan with four children to take care of leaving almost no time to actually spend time with her children because of the amount of time she had to work to make things flow. Anyway, flashforwad about thirty years and Katie is standing across from her brother while he's whielding a gun trying to explain that he's not dangerous. I don't know how it got that far, but there was a struggle, the gun went off and the bullet went straight through her heart. She ended up needing a heart transplant and she needed it within a few hours." Small tears are trickling down Steffy´s cheek.

"I think I read something about this a few years ago. Her brother shot himself because he felt guilty for taking the gun to show that woman?"

"He did. A few months later, Katie starts rejecting the heart and is slowly dying, I won't go into the events that led to it, but Katie fell pregnant and asked her niece and her husband to take care of the baby when she died. Her niece however found a cure and as you saw, Katie is alive and well. She lost that baby however and she didn't think she'd ever get the chance to have a baby of her own. She met Bill and they fell in love, some things happen, some of it I'm involved in but it worked itself out, but she falls pregnant, but her heart isn't able to sustain the pregnancy and Will is born earlier then planned and Katie almost looses her life, they manage to bring her back and she ends up having Post Partum Depression causing her to act strange, she's okay now though and I don't think that Bill and her has ever been as strong as they are now." Steffy sends a small smile over at Katherine.

"There's quite a few things you left out?" Katherine guesses.

"Yeah, but those things should come from the people who were involved. Anyway, they seemed quite content with their life until I came back this August, some things went down and then Kelleigh was born. It took a little less then seven weeks, but then she came to see the baby and I guess what they were missing was a little baby girl. So if you could give them that, I'd be really gratefull!" Her voice breaks at the end of her little speech.

"I'll do my best!" Katherine gives a reassuring smile.

Kelleigh has finished eating so Steffy makes her burp and then turns her to sit in her lap for a little bit and Katherine gets a first glance at the baby.

"Her eyes are gorgeous! I noticed that your eyes are brown, are they her fathers eyes?"

"No, her father has the tell tale Spencer eyes, a greyish brown color with specks of gold in them. Her eyes comes from my mothers side of the family. Just look at Will´s eyes and you'll see what I mean."

"Either way they are gorgeous. I've never seen such clear icy blue eyes on anyone."

"Yeah, she was born with a darker blue color in her eyes, so we thought she'd end up with my eye color, but turns out, she was lucky in the genetic roulette and got her grandma´s eyes. She has my nose though, but the rest is all Liam."

"Wait!" Katherine shakes her head. "I thought you and Wyatt were a couple and he was Kelleigh´s father?"

Steffy laughs a little.

"No, Kelleigh´s father is the middle Spencer brother."

"But you're building a house together? I'm confused."

"Well, I can't blame you for that. Wyatt's lease runs out about the time we'd ideally want the house finished. When I brought up the need to move because of Kelleigh and the need for housemates, he jumped on the chance to leave the apartment complex he's currently living in. I think I said something about the more we are, the less money we have to take from our own accounts. There's another reason why we needed to move, but that's not my story to tell."

"Oh, I think I get it now."

There's a knock on the door.

"You think you can get it? It's either your siblings, the pizza or my brother and his girlfriend. Kelleigh is almost falling asleep so I don't want to move much."

"Of course!"

Katherine walks over to the front door and let´s the people on the other side in and then walks back to the livingroom. Steffy looks up into the greenest eyes she's ever seen.

"This is my brother Derek and our sister Jessica."

"Ah, the architect and the builder!" She reaches out her hand to shake the new commers hands.

"That would be us I guess?" Derek raises his eyebrows while turning his head towards his sister in confusion. Katherine just waves him off. Jessica just laughs.

Wyatt chooses this moment to bring Steffy´s orange back from the kitchen.

"Oh, I almost forgot about that!" Steffy reaches her hand out to grab the orange from Wyatt and she sees when he notices their company, specifically the youngest woman.

Both the sisters of the family had the same height, their lips, nose and face shape were almost the same, but their hair differed, one blonde and one brunette, one curly and one straight. The brother was about a head taller then his sisters.

The doorknob of the front door turned and Michala and Thomas walked in with some extra supplies as they would probably spend the night as well. They had also brought the designsheet with Thomas drawing on it.

"I take it you're the other two?" Derek directs his question to the two newcommers.

"We are." Michala confirms.

"Did you bring Kelleigh´s pack n' play?" Steffy asks her brother.

"We did, we also brought some other things and we were thinking about stealing Wyatt to help bring it in?"

"Go right ahead!" Steffy looks totally serious. "It's not like he has anything better to do. Could you ask Bill in which guestroom he wants to put us?"

The four of them look at each other. Then they nod their head and Thomas walks off with Wyatt, who makes a detour to the guest bedroom to speak to his father.

A few minutes later, Bill walks out of it carrying Katie and he gives a wave to the people in the livingroom before walking up the stairs. He comes back down ten minutes later.

In the meantime, Thomas and Wyatt has brought the stuff in and Derek and Jessica have brought their stuff in as well.

The next four hours turn out really well for all involved and contracts will be signed.

Derek also offered to take Thomas under his wings to see if architecture is his calling. The reason for this is that Derek needed someone to help during meetings to draw up a rough sketch so that Derek could focus on the actuall meeting without dividing his attention between sketching and listening. It would be a win win situation. He had actually tested Thomas by giving him instructions and see if the sketch then matched what Derek had in his head.

"I don't think anyone has managed to match exactly what you wanted ever. I think you'll do well at my brothers firm!" Jessica exclaimed after seeing the sketch.

"I agree!" Derek agreed with his sister.

~Things happen~

Three weeks later, just before Christmas, all the contracts were signed and the Dawson-siblings were now a permanent fixture in the Spencer´s life.

At this particular time, Katherine is on her way over to Bill and Katie´s house with the result of the pregnancy test she had done at the fertility center.

She rings the doorbell and waits for one of them to open the door.

Katie is the one to open the door looking so much better then the first time Katherine had seen her.

"Hey! How are you?"

"I'm doing good, just went to my last doctors check up and I'm healing quite nicely."

"That's good! Is Bill home?"

"No, he got caught up in a meeting and won't be home until later. But we could call him right now." Katie offers.

"Good!"

Bill answers within a few rings.

"Hi honey! Katherine is here with news!"

"Oh, tell me! Am I having a girl or what?"

"Well, it would be a little early to know that don't you think?"

"That's true!"

"We are pregnant though! So there might be a girl! The doctor told me that my hormon levels are on point for twins though, I mean, we inserted two eggs, so maybe you'll be having twins!"

Bill´s reaction makes both women laugh as he screams out his joy.

"I take it you're happy?" Katherine smiles at Katie.

"Most definitely so!"

"How are things going for your brother and sister with the Spencer-Forrester-James house?"

"As far as I know, things are moving really good. The foundation is done and now they're building the frame work."

"That's good, well, I'll let you get back to your baby cooking, I got to go to this meeting now."

"I hope that ends well and I'll cook this/these baby/babies real good!"

"Thank you!"

Then they hang up and Katherine and Katie decided to spend some time with each other.

~Things happen~

Over at the Forrester Mansion, Michala, Steffy and Kelleigh have settled in well and the nurses were doing a terrific job caring for Eric, he seemed to have perked up during the time they had been there and everyone felt like this Christmas was really important.

Because this was an important Christmas, it was all hands on deck and they were going to go back in time to when the Forrester-family weren't as wealthy, either in money or members.

Taylor had rumaged through the attic and found the china that Eric and Stephanie had used for the first ten years of their marriage and they had set up a long table where the couch used to be in the livingroom so that they could house all the people in the family as well as extended family.

Kristen was bringing Antonio and Zende, Felicia was bringing Dino and Dante, Nick, Jackie, Owen, Jack and Logan were coming, Thorne and Aly were coming, Katie, Wyatt, Will and Bill were coming, Brooke was not invited for obvious reasons, Ridge and Taylor were hosting the event. Liam and Hope were coming, but didn't know if they were staying for the dinner. Marcus and Dayzee were coming with Rosie.

Stephanie and Eric didn't have to do much planning at all, they just had to sit back and watch their son and daughter in law do their magic.

Right now, Christmas was in two days and Taylor, Kristen, Felicia and Bridget were working their magic in the kitchen.

Christmas cookies and candies were being made as well as a lot of other stuff. Tomorrow they would start with the food.

~Things happen~

 **AN:**

 **Yeah, so a lot of Kill´s surrogate story there, next chapter should be Christmas 2013 and New Years 2013-14.**

 **Today I have done a selectiontest for an education I'd like to go and as a celebration of me completing said test, I decided to post this chapter! I hope you enjoy!**


	11. Chapter 11

**AN:**

 **I do not own a thing!**

 **Merry Christmas and a Happy New year!**

 **Remember to stop by on New Years day to read the Prologue for Floating Memories!**

Things happen

 **Chapter eleven**

 _Christmas Day 2013_

To say she was excited for her daughters first Christmas was an understatement, but it was dampended when she remembered her grandfathers condition. He looked like he was melting away and it was sad to see.

All the food had been made, the guests were starting to arrive and it was almost time to go and get Michala and her daughter.

When everyone had arrived, they gathered at the piano and watched Eric play carolls for half an hour, then when he didn't have enough energy, Kristen took over and the Forrester-girls sung until it was time for dinner.

Everyone took a plate and went to the table where the food was and gathered what they wanted, then sat down nice conversations with the people next to you.

Kelleigh spent the dinner propped up on a blanket to look at the tree and was letting little sounds out of her mouth to make sure everyone knew she was there.

Everyone had been given a person to give a gift to and after they had all been opened everyone was happy with what they got.

Then Eric asked Ridge to go into his bedroom and get the envelopes. There were six of them, one for each child. In Ridges letter was the deed to the house, in Thornes was the ownership records to Erics and Thornes favorite cars as well as a check. Kristens had a check as well as the jewelry Eric´s mother had received when Eric was able to give her jewelry. In Felicia´s was the ownership of the boat, the small plane and a check. Bridget and Rick´s envelopes contained the shares they would get when Eric died and a check.

After seeing what was in her envelope, Bridget rushes out to the patio off the livingroom, Steffy follows behind her. When she gets outside, Steffy hears that she's crying.

"Hey, what's wrong?"

"This just made it so much more real. He's tying up loose ends and I won't have my father soon. He's going to die and leave me behind."

Steffy just walks over and brings her in for a hug.

"I know, but it'll be okej, you just remember that you have your son and that you can lean on the rest of the family for support!"

"I know, but he's dying and we're celebrating Christmas!"

"Do you think he'd want it any other way?"

"No. He wouldn't." Silent tears still falling down her cheeks.

"Let's just go back inside and celebrate or maybe you would want to come with me upstairs while I feed my daughter and collect yourself a little?"

"Yeah, I think I'll follow you upstairs."

They walk back inside and Steffy walks over to fetch her daughter before starting the treck up the stairs to their bedroom, when she's just about to take on the last step up she looks back downstairs and sees Bridget getting a hug from Stephanie and then Taylor joins in. It seems like this does the trick and Bridget looks up and nods her head to let Steffy know she won't be following her upstairs. Steffy responds with a smile and then goes to feed her daughter.

When Kelleigh has been fed and changed, she fell asleep and Steffy left her in the bedroom for her nap.

She walks back downstairs and sees Eric sitting on the couch. She walks over and sits down next to him. She leans her head on his shoulder and thanks him for being her granddad.

" _Thank you for being my granddaughter_!" He whispers into her hair as he kisses the top of her head. " _And thank you for bringing Kelleigh into the world!_ "

"I wouldn't have it any other way!"

I'm done!

Liam and Hope had decided to stay for the dinner, Hope hadn't been sure she'd be able to be so close to Steffy or the baby, but with as many people currently in the Forrester Mansions livingroom, she didn't feel uncomfortable at all.

She was a little sad that her mother wasn't there, but she knew that there was very good reason for her to not even get an invitation.

She sees Bill picking up a glass and clinking it to let everyone know he wants to say a few words.

"Hello everyone! I would like to say that we should raise our glasses and make a toast to the patriarch of the Forrester-family!"

Everyone raises their glasses, well, those who can find theirs. "To Eric Forrester!"

"Oh, and by the way! We are pregnant!"

This was news to Liam and Hope.

"Well, our surrogate is pregnant!" Katie interjects with a smile on her face as she'd seen the worried faces on their friends and family.

The relief is evident on everyones faces.

"To Katie and Bill´s baby!" Ridge raises his glass again. "May their daughter grow up strong like her mother and brave like her father!"

"Hey, how do you know it's a girl? She's only two weeks as of right now."

"Well, Bill and I made a pact. The next one is a daughter. You just see a few weeks from now!" The smile on Ridge´s face is almost blinding.

All the men starts laughing at the expression on Taylor and Katie´s faces.

"Did you know about this?" Katie directs her question to Taylor.

"I guess it has to do with what Ridge said the day you extracted the eggs?"

Ridge walks back over to his wife. "It sure does. It actually goes back all the way to when Steffy announced Kelleigh´s name on Instagram."

"Really?" Taylor leans back to look at her husband.

Both Ridge and Bill says "Yes!" to answer that question and both Taylor and Katie shrug their shoulders.

"Well, Bill seems to only be able to produce boys so the likelyhood that it's a boy is bigger then a girl!" Thorne had walked over to see what was going on.

"Yeah, well, I'm only the donor, someone else put the parts together!" Bill says with laughter in his voice.

"That's true. Hmm. Well, congratulations either way!"

"Thank you!" Katie smiles at Thorne.

Bill looks over at his son and daughter in law and realizes that he hadn't even told them about his and Katie´s baby plans. He gently nudges his wife and walks over to the table.

"Hey! Merry Christmas!"

"Congratulations on the pregnancy news!" Hope says with a shyness that's not normally a part of her conversations with her father in law.

"Thank you!"

"We didn't know you had gotten so far in your baby making plans!"

"Yeah, after Katie ended up in the hospital we decided to start as soon as possible and Katherine agreed." Bill says with a small smile on his face.

"Right, how is Katie doing?"

"Well, it's been almost a month now so she's doing okay, some things are a little bit harder then others, but it's getting better every day." He watches his wife with so much pride in his eyes.

"That's good!"

"How's Brooke doing? Katie was concerned that she hasn't been in touch in almost two months now."

"Mom is planning on moving to New York because there's not that many people she likes here anymore and her not getting an invitation to the Christmas party was the last straw."

"Well, I hope she does well in New York!" Bill looks on both their faces. "So, how are you two doing? How are you doing being so close to both Steffy and Kelleigh?"

He directs the first question to both of them and the second one towards Hope.

"It's not as hard as I thought it would be!" Hope says with a smile. "I think it has to do with the fact that there are so much people here that I'm distracted and not thinking about it. I also think that my break through has a lot to do with me being so calm."

"Well, I'm glad it happened, although loosing the reality that once was couldn't have been easy."

"It wasn't, but it had to happen. Realizing your mother is manipulating you is hard on you emotionally, but realizing that your whole life is a big manipulation is even harder. I wish I would've found out what she was doing much sooner then this."

"Well, you know now and I'm proud of you for not losing yourself in the process!" Liam brought his wife into a hug.

"Yeah, that was very strong of you!"

"Well, I have my husband and family as well as there are other things that need my attention."

"Distractions are great in times of hardships."

"They sure are!" Hope sighs.

"Well, this got way to sad way to fast, it's Christmas! Did you like your gifts?"

"I know I liked mine, I don't know about Hope." Liam looks at his wife expectantly.

"Yeah, I liked mine as well, how about you Bill?"

"Oh, trust me, I liked mine quite a lot." Bill says with a sparkle in his eyes. Both of the younger people in the conversation laughs a little.

~Things happen~

Across the room, Nick is looking out on the people he thought he'd never call family, but due to his wife having a baby with his stepfather, he kind of had to take part in family hollidays. Watching his former wife talking with her brothers and walking around he had been a little worried when Bridget all of a sudden almost ran outside and Steffy followed her, but it seemed like Steffy had worked her magic on her aunt because she seemed to be in a more festive spirit when she came back in.

Watching his other former wife walk around the place and instantly fall into the conversations taking place because of the long history of the people in the room made him proud of how long they've all come. He had been surprised when he heard Taylor and Ridge had gotten married again and he had worried about Brooke and how she would feel, but then she did what she did and he felt like she wasn't worth him worrying about her anymore. Watching Taylor interacting with Jack again was filling his heart with joy, he had realized that he handled their break up very wrong and he and Taylor had a conversation about it about a year ago when Taylor was in New York at a conference and they had worked it out.

As he's standing there watching everything, he sees his mother walking over to stand by him.

"It's amazing don't you think?" She's looking over at Taylor, who has ended up with Jack on her back talking to Kristen, Owen, Zende, Dino and Thorne. "Did you think it could be like this a few years ago after you and Taylor split?"

"It is amazing and I hope it continues, but I did think it could be like this and it would have been like this earlier had I been more concerned with giving my son the best life he could have rather then running away like I did."

"So, I take it you want to move back then?" He looks over at his mother with shock in his eyes.

"I don't know, I mean, I want Jack to have both sides of his family close and I can't give him that in New York, but if I move here with Jack, he won't have you, Owen, Logan or Bridget anymore."

"Well, Owen and I have been talking to Bridget over the phone this last month during the daily calls to check on Logan and we've been discussing moving back to LA."

"Why haven't you said anything to me?"

"Well, it was only discussions, we knew that neither of us could move if you didn't want to as well, but with Bridget being in such demands due to her speciallity, she shouldn't have any problems relocating to LA and I know Massimo would love to have you closer to him then you are right now. I know he's been thinking about coming back to the states the last little while. Maybe you and him could set up shop for Marone Industries here in LA again?"

"What about you and Owen?"

"We'll be good, Jackie M is currently looking into venues to start up a boutique in LA and I atleast needs to be here for that. Jackie M in New York will do just fine with Jessica and Aubrey at the helm."

"Maybe we need to sit down and talk about this all of us."

"Maybe we should."

~Things happen~

Stephanie Forrester took great pride in seeing her family gathering like this, watching them all catch up with each other was something she'd wanted since her younger children decided to move from LA.

The family had grown a lot over the last few years and she was proud of the progress made. The only thing that needed to happen now was for Thorne and Felicia to find their significant others.

Watching Felicia run after her nine year old son was fascinating and watching Thorne´s daughter Aly join in the game was heart warming.

She watches closely as Steffy makes her way over to the piano and lock eyes with Michala, Thomas and Wyatt, apparently there have been plans in the making and Thomas sits down next to his sister.

The song they start playing brings everyone over to the piano again. Steffy starts them off with Michala joining in for certain words and then Thomas and Wyatt joined in as well.

Stephanie stands by the patio doors and looks out at the view of LA singing along silently.

 _Have yourself a merry little Christmas._

 _Let your heart be light._

 _From now on all troubles will be out of sight._

Silent tears start falling down her face and she removes them before turning back around.

Taylor sees that Stephanie is having an emotional moment and walks over to give her a hug and lend some strenght.

~Things happen~

Listening to Steffy singing was causing emotional turmoil for Hope Logan Spencer as well. She was starting to have trouble breathing, thankfully, her aunt could see that there was something going on with her and she walked over and pulled her into a hug.

Katie holds her like that for two minutes or so, then she pulls her with her out through the door to the kitchen to talk to her a little bit.

She walks over to the counter and takes the roll of paper with her, she rips off a piece and gives it to Hope.

"So, how are you doing? I know it can't be easy listening to Steffy singing."

"It could be worse, I could have not found out that mom had been manipulating me my whole life and realized that she was causing all the stress in my life and neither Liam or I would be here because I would be pissed at him for wanting to spend Christmas Day with his daughter and Liam would be angry with me for being pissed at him and spending his Christmas Day at the office ignoring my calls."

"That is true!"

"I think it's time I just let it go and I think I need to go and see Kelleigh."

"Do you want me to come with you?" Hope just shakes her head at Katie´s offer. "Ok, do you mind if I tell Steffy that you're on your way up to see her daughter?"

Hope looks up with anger in her eyes, then she sighs. "No, it might be for the best."

Katie stands up and pulls her niece into a hug. They then leave the kitchen and Katie watches Hope walk over to the staircase before locating Steffy as she's still sitting by the piano.

She walks over and touches Steffy´s shoulder and when Steffy turns around to look at her, Katie points over to the stair case making Steffy see Hope half way up the stairs almost frozen in place. She then sees Hope shake herself and fisting up her hands and arguing a little with herself. Steffy turns back to Katie.

"Is it time?"

Katie just nods her head.

Steffy gets up from the piano and starts moving towards the stair case at a pace that would let Hope get all the way to Steffy´s bedroom before she starts walking up the stairs.

As she comes to the top of the stairs she hears the door open and Steffy walks quietly towards her bedroom and stops outside the door.

Downstairs, Liam had noticed that Hope had gone up the stairs and that Steffy had later followed. When he moved to go after both girls fearing for either of theirs security, he was stopped by Katie.

"It's time."

Five minutes later, Steffy is still standing outside of her bedroom listening to Hope talking with her daughter. She could hear the sadness in Hope´s voice so she stays outside the door, because Hope obviously need to have this talk with Kelleigh.

On the other side of the wall, Hope has taken the chair that normally stands in front of Steffy´s vanity and placed herself next to the crib where Kelleigh was entertaining herself before Hope entered.

Hope had introduced herself and apologized for the way she acted when Liam brought Kelleigh home after Katie´s trip to the hospital.

All of a sudden the room starts stinking.

"Oh no, did you just poop?" Hope looks at Kelleigh who coos almost saying yes. "Well, maybe we should take care of that."

Hope rises from the chair while searching for a changing table, she finds it and so she picks Kelleigh up and she's immediately intoxicated by the smell coming from Kelleigh´s head.

Hope walks over to the changing table and realizes she has no idea what to do. "Hey, help me out will you?"

Kelleigh does a motion with her head that can only be described as a nod.

"Thank you for not being a boy." Hope takes the dirty diaper off, finds the baby wipes and starts cleaning Kelleigh.

Steffy decides that Hope is doing well with Kelleigh and goes down to warm a bottle up, then she walks out to the others, finds Liam and tells him to bring the bottle up to Hope and demands that he only delivers the bottle, maybe help Hope get Kelleigh in the right position.

Liam just nods his head and walks up the stairs to find his wife and daughter.

Hope has moved both of them over to the rocking chair and had pulled the puff closer to place her feet on, she has Kelleigh resting on her lap and moving her arms around.

She looks up when the door opens and a bright smile forms on her lips as she sees her husband walk through the door,

"I just changed her diaper!" She says with so much pride in her voice that he can only let his mouth drop to the floor.

"Steffy told me that you would need this!" He walks over and hands Hope the bottle.

"Are you hungry?" Hope directs the question to the baby in her lap and Kelleigh coos and stretches a little more.

Hope tilts the bottle so that Kelleigh can start eating and Kelleigh takes it instantly. Hope stares in wonder at the little girl in her lap.

"I can't believe I hated her the way I did." Hope starts crying. Kelleigh looks at her with those icy blues and grabs ahold of one of Hope´s fingers.

Ten minutes later, Kelleigh refuses to eat more and so Hope hands the bottle back to Liam and brings Kelleigh up over her shoulder to burp her. Kelleigh, being the good baby that she is, burps like she should and then tilts her head down on Hope´s shoulder causing Hope to cry again at the trust that this little girl is putting in her.

"I'm going to go and put this in the dishwasher. Will you be coming with me or are you staying here a little while more?"

"I'm going to stay here with your daughter a few more minutes and then we'll come downstairs."

Liam searches her eyes and then nods his head and walks out the door after giving her a kiss.

Hope turns her head and lets herself take in the baby smell once again.

"You know, you smell different then your uncle Will did when he was three months old, maybe it's a girl thing, but you smell so much better."

Liam comes down the stairs and walks through to the kitchen and empties the bottle before rinsing it out as well. He then walks back through the door from the kitchen and sees his wife at the top of the stairs with Kelleigh securely in her arms and the joy that fills him almost knocks him to the floor.

The smile that forms on Steffy´s lips as she watches Hope walk down the stairs with Kelleigh in her arms causes Thomas and Wyatt´s forheads to frown, then they turn and looks where Steffy is looking and the smile on Steffy´s lips migrates to theirs as well. Michala turns her head to see what has her boyfriend, Steffy and Wyatt smiling so big.

"It's a Christmas miracle!" She says as she starts smiling as well.

Hope searches the crowd for Steffy and then she walks over to her and brings her into a hug.

" _I'm sorry!_ "

Michala steals the baby away from Hope giving Steffy room to give Hope a proper hug.

" _It's okey! You needed time and I'm proud of you!_ "

Stephanie is still standing by the door out to the patio looks on with great pride at her former step granddaughter and granddaughter making peace with each other.

The clock strikes 6 PM and everyone starts getting a little bit hungry again, luckily, this had been planned for and plates filled with fruit, vegetables and left overs from the big lunch had been prepared and everyone went and got a plate filled with food.

"This is delicious!" Thorne exclaims as he leans back on the chair he's sitting on rubbing his belly after finishing what he had put on his plate.

"I agree!" Both Jack and Logan agrees.

Steffy just nods her head in agreement with her brother/cousin and her cousin. Aly, Dino and Zende groans their agreement.

Taylor, Kristen and Felicia just smile at their kids antics.

Eric laughs a little. "Now, if everyone will excuse me, I think I need to sleep for a little while."

Ridge and Nick get up and help Eric into his current bedroom.

While Ridge and Nick helps Eric, the rest of them decides that while this is fun, maybe it was time to leave and they agree to do this again a little less then a week from now, although maybe a little later in the day.

~Things happen~

The following week was spent planning the New Years party. All the Forrester girls gathered with Taylor, Katie, Jackie and Stephanie to plan the party.

They decided to not do a big celebration and just have a dinner. They spent much time getting all of the guest houses on the Forrester property ready to house everyone who was coming so that they didn't have to drive home.

They also decided that the only alcohol that was going to be served during the party was the glass of champagne at midnight as there was so many children present.

The planning was done on Monday, New Years Eve was the next day and everyone was ready.

~Things happen~

 _December 31st 11:52 pm._

 _Forrester Mansion, the livingroom_

Liam looks around and sees Steffy talking to her brother, Hope holding Kelleigh while talking to Katie and Bill and he knows that the year to come will hold so many wonderful things.

He was going to become a big brother again and him and his wife were on the right track. His mother in law had left LA just after Christmas and she had moved to New York without letting anyone know.

She had signed over the house to Bridget after hearing that Bridget might be moving back to LA, Bridget in turn had called her landlord and signed over her apartment to her mother and now there was no turning back.

Bridget was planning on renovating the house and had decided to talk to Derek about it and see if maybe he and Jessica could do it after finishing on the Spencer-Forrester-James house.

It was almost midnight and so he searches for his wife again, he finds her talking to Steffy. Steffy reaches out to take her daughter and then tells Hope to find her husband.

Liam walks over to her with two glasses of bubbly, he gives her one of them and then snakes his arm around her waist.

"Hey Everyone!" Taylor clinks her glass to gain everyone´s attention. "I want to welcome you all to 2014!"

"Cheers!" Everyone raises their glasses and salutes her. "Happy New Year!"

Eric hadn't made it to midnight, but he slept fine when Stephanie went to check on him twenty minutes past.

~Things happen~

New Years day was spent by the fire place and Eric had got a surge of energy and most everyone knew what this meant, the doctor had warned them that he would get a rush of energy right before he lost the battle of his life, but they wanted to make the most of it.

~Things happen~

 _Friday January 3rd 2014_

Bridget had called Derek and asked him to come over to check the house out.

She had walked around with a pen and note pad to write down what she wanted changed in the house and when she was done, she had almost filled the whole note pad. Yes, it was a small note pad, but she managed to almost fill it completely.

It was mostly cosmetic work, like new wallpaper or new paint, she wanted to change the kitchen, new furniture, rip out the carpet in the masterbedroom and put in woodfloors. Change the interior in the masterbedroom closet. Fix RJ´s room into Logan´s room and then fix Hope´s old room into a room that Logan and Jack could share during sleepovers.

Right now she's sitting on the couch in the livingroom waiting for Derek to arrive. He had said that Jessica was needed at the Spencer-Forrester-James-site and could not come with him, but they could talk about everything regardless.

The doorbell rings and Bridget walks over to open the door.

"Hi!" She extends her hand to shake his. "Thank you for coming!"

"Hello!" He accepts the handshake and the electrical current traveling along their arms is intense.

He looks into her brown eyes with his green and they get lost in each other.

It takes a few minutes, but he shakes his head and turns to look at the house.

"So, you wanted to give this house a new look?"

"Yeah, I did. I have a notepad with the things I want done. I can write them in an email after you've read them when we walk through the house?"

"That sounds good. Do you have any idea what the end result is that you want?"

"I do. I want this house to have the same layout, but look totally different. Right now, this is my mothers house and that's not what I want my house to look like."

He nods his head and she then leads him to the kitchen.

Two hours later, they come back down the stair case and he had a note pad filled with Bridget´s notes as well as suggestions he had given her to think about.

"Well, I think we have a plan for this house. I'm going to talk to Jessica and see when she can get it done and I'll call you after I've talked to her. I believe she'll be quite busy for the next few months until I can start on the inside of your niece and nephews house."

Bridget nods her head. "I look forward to hearing from you!" She gives him one of her brightest smiles.

"I'll talk to you later! Have a nice weekend if I don't call you before the end of the day!"

"You too!" Bridget caresses his arm as they walk to the door, she opens it and lets him out. "Good bye!"

"Good bye!"

She closes the door and walks over to the couch to collect her phone and she sends some texts over to Steffy´s phone.

 **To Steffy:**

Hey, that architect you're working with, he's kind of good looking isn't he?

 **From Steffy:**

Hey Bridget! Yes, he is. Did you have a good consultation?

 **To Steffy:**

We did, he'll talk to Jessica about it and should be in touch as soon as possible.

 **From Steffy:**

That's good. So, did you look into his green eyes?

 **To Steffy:**

What do you mean?

 **From Steffy:**

Did you look into his eyes?

 **To Steffy:**

I did, but what does that have to do with anything?

 **From Steffy:**

Because, he's made for you.

When she reads the last text Steffy sent her, her jaw drops.

 **To Steffy:**

I'm sorry, what?

 **From Steffy:**

Well, when I first saw him and his green eyes, my first thought was He's Bridgets new man.

 **To Steffy:**

Well, we'll just see about that.

 **From Steffy:**

Haha. We will, we will!

~Things happen~

On January 11th, Eric started showing signs of the cancer finally beating him and on January 13th, the family gathered to say Good bye and they were all there when he finally let go.

January 28th, the funeral took place and the day after a small gathering at the Forrester Mansion happened to say good bye to the family patriarch.

~Things happen~

The next few months turned into a blur for many in the family, all production at Forrester Creations stopped for three weeks and the buyers understood why.

It was time for one of the Spencer-family lunches when Katie and Bill decided to announce what gender their baby was.

Bill clinks his glass to gather everyones attention and everyone turns their head towards him.

"As many of you know, this last Thursday Katherine, Katie and I went to the doctor to find out the gender of our baby. And, it would seem as Thorne was right in his assesment that I can only produce boys as there is a little boy cooking inside of Katherines belly!" Everyone cheers and then they see the dissapointment on Katie´s faces. "So, I want to thank Katherine for the opportunity for another son and that you are willing to help us out again if we choose to try again!"

A look of mystery puts a vail on Katherine´s face though and she stands up to take the word from Bill.

"So, we've been lying to both of you, Bill. Yes, there is a boy growing in my belly, **but** I'm also making good on my promise to Steffy to do my best in giving you a little baby girl!" A big smile forms on her lips at the shocked look on Bill and Katie´s faces.

"Are you serious?!" Bill starts crying tears of joy and then his legs give out on him and he slides down into his chair.

Steffy gets up from her chair and walks over to Katherine to give her a big hug. _"Thank you!"_

Liam and Wyatt give each other a high five and Katie is still looking shocked at the news.

"But how? We've been there for all three ultrasounds?"

"Well, I've been going to extra ultrasounds and then they've been showing videos of my cousins ultrasounds." Bill´s mouth drops. "I wanted this to be a surprise for all of you and that you'd find out together and this was the best way we could do it."

Steffy starts laughing and Bill turns his head towards her with a strange look on his face.

"What are you lauging about?" Bill says with laughter in his voice.

"Well, I now know where all of Kelleigh´s hand me downs are going and you two need to figure out two names for your babies!"

Bill and Katie look at each other and then smile.

"Well, we know what to name our boy and we hope that the Forresters don't mind."

"You're naming him Eric aren't you?" Steffy asks with a small smile.

"Yes, Eric Stephen Spencer." Katie says with pride all over her face.

"Well, I'm sure grandma will be very happy that granddad is honored by you!" Steffy walks over to Katie and gives her a hug. "What about the girl then?"

"Well, I was thinking Elizabeth Karen or Elizabeth Caroline." Katie looks over to her husband.

"Maybe Mary Elizabeth after our mothers?"

"Mary Elizabeth Spencer." Katie says the name to taste it on her tongue and see how it feels to say. "It sounds good, but it doesn't feel right."

"What about Maribeth?" Steffy gives as a suggestion.

"Maribeth." Both Katie and Bill feels the name out.

"You know you don't have to decide right now right?" Liam interjects.

Then you can see Katie´s moment of clarity. "Maribeth Alessia Spencer."

Bill´s head whisks around to look at his wife. "After both grandma´s and her great grandmothers. Combining the names was a good idea. Thank you for the suggestion Steffy!"

"Well, tricky baby names is a talent of mine. Besides, your wife came up with the end product."

"To Maribeth and Eric Spencer!" Hope raises her glass with a smile on her face.

~Things happen~

 **AN:**

 **Yeah, no, I couldn't end with Eric dying and the gathering after the funeral and announcing Kill´s babies were the best happy news I could think of.**

 **I do not like writing about people dying to I decided to just mention Eric dying.**


	12. Chapter 12

**AN:**

 **As always, I do not own a thing that comes from the show.**

 **It's a new year in this B &B-verse now. Welcome to 2014!**

Things happen

 **Chapter twelve**

 _May 2_ _nd_ _2014_

 _Spencer-Forrester-James-house, living room_

Steffy had just returned home after work and was sitting on the couch reading a book for the first time in forever when Thomas and Michala walk through the arch connecting the living room and dining room in the part of the house that they shared.

"Hey!" Steffy looks up at her brother and his girlfriend.

"Hi!"

"So, where's Kelleigh?"

"She's at the Cliff house with her father and Hope. She'll be there the whole weekend." Steffy gives a small smile. "I miss her." Her smile turns into a frown.

"Well, that's progress don't you think?" Thomas brings Michala with him to sit down on the arm chair opposite the couch Steffy is sitting on.

"It is and I'm so happy that Hope broke through those walls. But I'm missing my daughter."

"Yeah, so..." Steffy can see that Thomas is working up the courage to ask her something so she looks towards Michala.

"We were wondering if maybe you'd like to come with us to Las Vegas?"

"Why?" Steffy is confused.

"Well, what are the three big things one does in Vegas?" Michala asks with a straight face.

"Well, you get drunk, gamble and go to strip clubs?" Steffy is starting to get an inkling to where this is going.

"Okay, so, the four big things you do in Vegas."

"What's the fourth thing?"

"You get married."

"What? You're gonna get married?"

Both Michala and Thomas nod their heads.

"Does mom and dad know that you're depriving them of another wedding Thomas?"

Thomas looks down in shame and Michala looks confused.

"What do you mean another wedding?"

Steffy looks at her brother in shock.

"You haven't told her yet?" Thomas just shakes his head. "Maybe you should do that before asking me to follow you to Vegas for another of your Vegas-weddings. Now, let me get back to my book and you can come back when you've talked about that."

Thomas and Michala walk back to their part of the house.

"So, what was Steffy talking about?"

"Well, when I was nineteen, the housekeeper that grandma and granddad had died unexpectedly leaving her daughter behind and she risked deportation since they apparently were in the country illegally. To help her out, I asked her to marry me because I wanted to help and so we went to Las Vegas and got married. Mom found out and put up strict rules that we had to follow. Like the young kids we were, we didn't exactly follow those rules and mom called immigrations, but she also made a suggestion because she knew we had developed feelings for each other. She told Gabi to go to college and to come back to see where we would go if the feelings were still there on her side when she graduated."

"Did she come back?"

"No, she didn't. I saw her in San Francisco a few years ago, about 7 months pregnant and a two year old walking beside her. The two-year-old started running away from her, but she didn't seem that bothered and when the little girl reached a man, he picked her up and she gave him a big kiss and called him Daddy. It's been nine years since Gabi and I even talked to each other the last time and there has been a few women in between."

"Okay, I need to think about this. You really should've told me before you asked me to marry you."

"Yeah, I should have, but I didn't see the point. Gabi and I are so far in the past it isn't even something I think about that much."

"Yeah, well, finding out from your sister that you've been married before and not you when I was honest about my previous relationship is a little hard to take. You were married Thomas. He and I were never married."

Thomas just nods his head and then watches Michala walk off.

~Things happen~

Meanwhile, down stairs, Steffy has turned her attention back at the book when the doorknob turns and Wyatt comes back from his visit at his mother´s firm, he comes into the living room and sees Steffy reading.

"Hey!" Steffy turns her head so she can see him over her shoulder.

"Hey! How was your mother?" Steffy dog ears the book and puts it on the coffee table.

"She's good. Orders are coming in from both stores and private clients." Wyatt says with pride on his face.

"That's good."

"Yeah, how are you doing? Liam called and said he and Hope are keeping Kelleigh this weekend."

"Well, I miss my daughter, but it's a step in the right direction. I'm thinking we could start sharing custody by Kelleigh´s first birthday at the latest."

"That is a step in the right direction!"

There's a sound coming from the stair case leading up to Michala and Thomas part of the house and they see Thomas coming down the stairs.

"Hey! What's the sour face for?" Wyatt says with laughter in his voice.

"Well, Steffy just told my fiancé that I used to be married and I hadn't told her yet." Thomas throws himself onto the arm chair he occupied before he and Michala left.

"Not my fault. I thought you had told her already." Steffy just waves it off.

"Seriously dude? You didn't tell her you'd been married before you proposed to her?" Wyatt is surprised.

"Well, how often do you think I think about the fact that I was married for about three weeks nine years ago to a woman I haven't seen in a few years?"

"Well, I would've thought you'd think about telling the woman you're proposing to that you married a woman to save her from deportation a few years ago before you propose to her."

"Yeah, I should have, just as Michala pointed out a few minutes ago."

"Well, sounds to me you only have yourself to blame for that mishap." Wyatt points at Thomas to make his point clear.

"That's what I thought." Steffy agrees with Wyatt. "When they came down to see me about forty-five minutes ago to ask me to come with them to Vegas for their wedding this weekend, I let it slip that he was going to deprive mom and dad of another wedding of his."

"Oh, that's harsh don't you think?" Wyatt turns to Steffy with a frown on his forehead.

"Well, he went to Vegas behind their backs to marry Gabi and they didn't plan on telling either mom or dad for a while. Uncle Nick and Bridget had been there though and told on them. Let's just say that Thomas was not happy. Mom and dad were even less happy. When Thomas and Gabi then decided to not play by the rules that mom set up for them, mom and dad got even less happy."

"Oh." Wyatt´s jaw dropped to the floor.

"Yeah, so that's why you need to say these things to the women you propose to. I would've thought it would've come up in conversation when you started getting serious."

"Yeah, well, it didn't." Thomas sulks.

"Yeah, it didn't and that's on you buddy. So, what do you all want for dinner today?" Steffy decides this was way too emotional to discuss right now.

"Well, I've had a craving for lasagna all day today." Wyatt offers as a suggestion.

"Well then, I'll make the meat and tomato sauce, you'll do the cheese sauce, Thomas makes the pasta, Michala makes the salad and then Thomas sets the table?"

"Sounds good to me!" Both Thomas and Wyatt agree.

"Good, I'll go and talk to Michala for a little bit after getting the sauce simmering."

The three migrates to the kitchen and starts cooking.

Steffy chops up some onion, tomatoes and takes out the meat from the freezer to thaw while cooking in the sauce, then she adds all the vegetables and watches as the mixture starts bubbling, she then adds the spices and puts the stove on low heat and walks out of the kitchen after having given the boys instructions.

She climbs the stairs up to Michala and Thomas floor and knocks on the door. Michala comes to the door about two minutes after and Steffy can see she's been crying.

"Hey, it's not as bad as you think." Steffy opens up her arms for Michala to come and hug her.

"Why didn't he just tell me then?" Michala steps into the embrace Steffy is offering.

"I truly think it just slipped his mind. It was a teenage mistake that he hasn't really thought about in years. Yes, he should have told, but I don't think he kept it from you to keep a secret from you. Trust me, had it been an issue for him, he would've told you about it."

"But shouldn't I be allowed to receive the same level of honesty as he received?"

"Of course, you should, but I don't think either of us actually see it as that big of a deal. It was three weeks of his life nine years ago. Don't let this take away from the relationship you two have now."

"Trust is important to me and he kept this from me."

"Yeah, but still, it was three weeks nine years ago that ended in an annulment. He probably hasn't even thought about Gabi in that way for at least eight and a half years now. I didn't think about Gabi and his marriage until you two came and asked me if I wanted to follow you two to Vegas to attend your wedding. I doubt he's thought about anything concerning Gabi since he last saw her in San Francisco a few years back. He came home and was so happy that she looked so happy, they didn't even speak when he saw her."

Michala picks up a tissue and dries her tears. "If you think so."

"I truly do. He's only got eyes for you and I doubt they'd shift any time soon. Think of it like this, he unintentionally kept something from you, he didn't lie about anything. The only thing he did wrong is not tell you about it. Had it been brought up in conversation, he would have told you, but right now he's too wrapped up in your relationship that past relationships aren't even an issue."

A small smile starts forming on Michala´s lips.

"Trust me, this is only an issue if you let it be, so please don't let it be. But do try to convince him to have a wedding where mom and dad are invited?"

They hug again and Michala promises to try.

"Now, I need to go down to the kitchen to check on my sauce and the boys progress on the lasagna and you should follow to fix the salad!"

Michala takes a deep breath.

"Okay. Let's go!"

They come down to the kitchen and Michala walks over to Thomas and gives him a kiss.

Steffy walks over to the stove and stirs her pot and says awe when Michala kisses Thomas.

~Things happen~

The renovations of Bridget´s house had started almost instantly after Jessica had finished with the interior of the Spencer-Forrester-James-house and after seeing the wonderful job that the two siblings had done for both their daughter and Bridget, Taylor and Ridge had decided to use Dawson Construction and Architecture when it came to the redecoration of the Forrester Mansion. There wasn't that much they needed to do, new carpet on the staircase, redo the master bedroom, change the countertops of the kitchen, renovate the bathrooms and new paint on the wall.

Eric and Stephanie had taken really good care of the house over the years they had lived there and as a result, everything that Taylor and Ridge did to the house was cosmetic stuff and it only took two weeks to complete.

Speaking of the renovations over at Bridget´s house, Bridget had talked to the hospital she worked at and her chief called a private clinic in LA and asked if they were in need of an OB/GYN with a specialty in fetal surgery and it turned out that it was the case so Bridget´s chief of surgery at the hospital she worked at terminated her contract with them and Bridget was now working at a private practice in LA. It was a good place to work, Bridget thrived and the practice received many clients as a result and the entire practice blossomed, they even had the possibility to expand within the first two months that Bridget worked with them.

As Steffy had warned Bridget, her relationship with Derek blossomed in a way she wasn't expecting, they had been on their first date one week after the renovations of her house had been finished. He was also amazing with Logan and there seemed to be a love forming between the two as well. Logan absolutely adored Derek.

Today was Sunday and there was nothing in Bridget´s calendar that she needed to do so she was surprised when there was a knock on her door.

She comes walking from the kitchen drying her hands off with a kitchen towel to open the door.

She opens it and is surprised when she sees who's on the other side of it.

"Hello! I didn't think we had any plans today?" Bridget looks into his eyes and then leans in for a hug. "Did we?"

"Well, we don't." Just as he denies any plans on their part, Logan runs down the stair case and up the landing just inside the door and up in his arms. He has sparkles in his eyes.

"Can we go now?" Logan already has his shoes and jacket on.

"Uhm. Logan." Logan turns to his mother. "Have you forgotten to do something?"

Logan brings his finger up in the thinking position. "No, I don't think so?"

"Why don't you think a little more then?" Bridget crosses her arms over her chest and looks at him expectantly.

Derek brings his hand up and whispers in Logan´s ear. _"Did you tell your mom about our plans today?"_

Logan starts blushing heavily and then shakes his head. Bridget in turn raises her eyebrows.

"Momma!" Logan begins pleading with his eyes. "Can Derek and I go to the zoo today?"

"I do believe you can since you asked so nicely, but you should have asked me when you made the plans little man!" Bridget leans towards her son and kisses him on the forehead.

"Thank you, momma!"

"Hey, maybe you can ask if uncle Nick and Jack will come with you?" At Bridget´s suggestion, the sparkle is coming back into Logan´s eyes and he starts nodding forcefully. "Let me just call him and see."

Bridget walks into the kitchen to call her ex. She comes back about five minutes later.

"You'll be getting a call in a little bit from Nick, here's his number..." She hands Derek a note with a number on it. "He's just calling to make sure you're going to the same zoo. We've also decided that when it's time to come home, Jack can come with you here and have a sleep over. I'm on call tomorrow and the boys are going to school in the morning so there will be no staying up late tonight, but Nick figured that since they were spending time together today and they go to the same school, they could go together tomorrow."

"Nice!" Logan holds up a hand to high five his mother.

"You two have fun with Uncle Nick and Cousin Jack today and I'll see you when you get home."

She goes out on the porch and waves them off as they leave, then she turns around and sighs.

"Well, what am I going to do now?" She throws her hands out and groans.

She moves over to the couch and picks up her phone and calls Steffy, it takes her five rings to answer.

"Hello!"

"What do you do when your boyfriend has kidnapped your son and went to the zoo with him and his Uncle Nick and Cousin Jack?"

Steffy´s answer is quick. "You cook!"

"I'm sorry?"

"I have been childless all weekend, all I've done is cook and read. You should see our fridge and freezer."

"I'll come right over!" Bridget hangs up as she's talking and searches the house for the keys to her car and her house keys and then rushes over to Steffy´s house.

Thomas opens the door and is surprised when Bridget starts walking in asking where Steffy is.

"Well, hello to you too, Steffy is in the kitchen."

Bridget then stops dead in her tracks, then she turns around towards Thomas. "Where is the kitchen?"

Thomas chuckles. "Come with me."

Then he leads her straight to the kitchen and leaves her there with Steffy. Steffy looks up from the book she's writing in.

"You're here already?"

"Yeah? I said I was coming."

"You did, but I didn't think you meant now. Anyway, not that you're here, should we get started on this? I'm guessing you're here to get instructions on how to cook for the next few weeks?" At Bridget´s nod, Steffy starts moving towards the fridge and freezer, taking her book with her.

She opens the freezer and all Bridget sees are oven friendly containers everywhere, freezer bags with muffins, loafs of bread, pancakes and already cooked meat as well as already almost completely made sandwiches. There are also bags with different ingredients to put in the crockpot.

"Okay, first of all, you need to figure out what you're eating for the time that you'll be cooking for, this is the food for the four of us for the next five weeks. Then you need to figure out how much of everything you need. Always write everything out. We don't always stick to the plan when it comes to the meals we've planned, like this past Friday for instance, the plan was to eat a crock pot meal, but we all decided that we wanted lasagna instead and so we made lasagna as we had already cooked minced beef in the freezer and already grated cheese for the cheese sauce in another bag. Anything we don't use in the recipes is placed in the freezer in case we need it."

Bridget nods her head. Then they move over to the kitchen table.

"So, your first instinct when it comes to what you want to eat for the coming week is what?"

"Well, I was planning on chicken, meatballs in tomato sauce, one more chicken dish and then a vegetarian lasagna as well as some salmon with broccoli and couscous."

"Okay." Steffy gets up and walks over to the island of the kitchen and gets a paper and a pen. "Write up what you need from the store and the things you already have at home. When doing this you should always have the recipes handy."

Bridget write up what she needs and what she already has.

"How much of this can you use in every meal?"

"Well, if I use fresh broccoli, I can grate the stems and put that in with the meatballs to push the amount of food I end up with for that meal. I can serve one of the chicken dishes with couscous as well and then we can have left overs with both the salmon, both chicken dishes and the meatballs, the vegetarian lasagna might be difficult as it seems to be a favorite."

"Okay, now, as we both know, couscous is a dish best served fresh so I would cook it when it's time to eat it. Pasta and boiled potatoes are also best served freshly made, as is mashed potatoes. A potato or pasta bake on the other hand can be frozen for a few weeks."

"Okay, so, how am I going to do this?"

"Figure out how many times you'd be willing to eat each dish and how much you need of it for those times. Then when you get home, you cook all of it except the side dishes, in this case the couscous."

"Do you think maybe I can come see what you're doing next time you're doing this?"

"Absolutely, it will be a while though."

"That doesn't matter. I want to be there for all of it."

"Sure, I'll let you know when we are going to start planning."

"That sounds good to me!"

"Good, maybe Liam and Hope can come as well, I heard from Hope when I dropped off Kelleigh on Friday that they do this as well."

"Really?"

"Yeah, apparently Liam´s mom did this when he was younger and he made it a tradition."

"Where did you get it from? I mean, you weren't doing this when you were married to Liam right?"

"No, my love for freezer cooking comes from late night feedings and Kelleigh not sleeping watching YouTube videos. I'll send you a few links of my favorite ones."

"Thank you! Well, I guess I need to get to a grocery store and then get home and cook before Logan and Jack gets home from the zoo."

"Good, call me if you need any advice!"

"Will do!"

Bridget then leaves with the paper she had written on and Steffy continues to write in her book.

When she's done she walks into the living room to sit down on the couch and read a little more until Liam and Hope would bring her daughter back since everything else that needed to be done was already done.

About two hours later, the doorbell rings again and Steffy jumps of the couch and opens the door to greet her ex-husband and his wife with her daughter.

"Hello everyone!" She greets with a smile.

"Hello Steffy! How is everything doing?" Hope greets Steffy with a smile as well.

Steffy gives Hope a hug before giving Liam a smile and taking her daughter from him before inviting them in.

"Well, it's been a very productive weekend."

"Really? Have you been working on your child free weekend?" Liam is a little bit shocked.

"Of course not, I'm not that obsessed with work." Hope just laughs. "Okay, okay, I probably am. No, actually, we've been cooking up a storm over here this weekend. You just missed your sister by a couple of hours by the way."

She directs the last statement to Hope.

"Really? What was Bridget doing here?"

"Well, apparently her boyfriend and her son had plans today and she just didn't know what do to with herself and so she asked me and now she's on her way home to do some cooking for the week ahead. I actually wanted to talk to you both about that actually." Steffy has picked her daughter out of the car seat and hugged her close while talking.

"Really, what about?"

"Well, I was wondering if you'd like to be a part of our freezer cooking adventure next time? Bridget is going to be here from start to finish, so we're probably putting both her and Logan in the guesthouse and you two could stay there with her if you wanted? The more we are the faster we could get everything done."

Liam and Hope look towards each other.

"Sounds good to me. I think your kitchen is probably better equipped than ours as well." Hope accepts the invitation and Liam nods his head.

"You want to come and take a look? I think Wyatt will be coming down soon." Steffy checks her wrist watch. "Yeah, it's his time to make dinner today!"

Just as she stops talking, Wyatt starts walking down the stairs. "Oh! Kelleigh! My darling! Oh, how I have missed you!" He starts sprinting down the stairs when he sees his niece and when Kelleigh sees him, she starts reaching out for him.

"Wy Wy!"

"You know, I really wish she would react the same way when she sees me." Steffy sulks when she feels her daughter get pulled from her arms. "You better start on dinner soon!"

Wyatt turns to his brother and sister in law. "Are you staying for dinner?"

"Well, if you have enough for us as well, sure, we'd love to stay!" Hope accepts the invitation.

"Awesome!"

"Alrighty, give me my daughter back and go start on dinner. I'm hungry!"

"All right! I'm going!" Wyatt hands Kelleigh back to Steffy and then goes to the kitchen to start dinner.

Steffy on the other hand goes into the living room and brings her daughter with her to go sit in the arm chair by the window to get a good bonding session in leaving Liam and Hope standing in the hallway looking confused.

"Now what?" Liam turns to Hope with confusion on her face.

"Well, I guess we follow either one of them." Hope then scratches her head.

"Well, let's follow Wyatt then, see if we can help with dinner."

"Good idea!"

The two then follow Wyatt to the kitchen.

~Things happen~

Over at Bridget´s house, Bridget is going full steam ahead with the cooking. She planned on making the pasta dish Taylor and Steffy had done with the pasta sauce and spaghetti when she arrived in LA last year and a couscous salad with chicken.

The chicken was in the oven cooking away and she was preparing the salmon and broccoli. She had also decided on making a potato and leek soup while at the store that they would be eating tomorrow, so she was just going to start cutting and measuring everything up and then put all of it in a container in the fridge.

The tell tell sound of little feet running to the kitchen told her that her son and his best friend was back from the zoo. She turns around just as the two whirlwinds busts through the door to the kitchen and Derek follows just a minute after.

"Momma! Momma!" Logan comes running around the island to get to his mother. She picks him up and he clings his legs around her waist.

"Well, I guess you went and saw the monkeys, did you? Clinging to momma like a little monkey!"

"We did!" Logan says with a big smile. "One of them had just had a baby!"

"I'm guessing you all had so much fun!"

"Yes!" Jack jumps up on a barstool that's on one of the shorter sides of the island. "So much fun!"

Bridget looks over at Derek and raises her eyebrows, he just chuckles and nods his head.

"What'cha doin'?" Jack wants to know.

"I'm making parts of next week's dinners! Do you want to help me shred the chicken?" She asks the older of the two boys.

"Yeah!"

Jack had helped her with this before a few times and he knew what he needed to do.

"Thank you, my little helper!"

Jack looks up from the plate she had placed before him with pride on his face.

"Now, what do you want for dinner?"

"We ate on the way home momma!"

"Oh, you did? Did you bring me any food?"

Both young boys bow their heads in shame.

"No, we didn't." Both of them say.

"Well,..." Derek walks out of the kitchen and then comes back with a brown bag from a diner on the way back from the zoo. "We did actually. Nick reminded me that you might want some food, so he took the boys with him and I went and got you some food."

"Thank you!" Bridget walks over with her little monkey boy on her hip still and gives Derek a hug and then grabs the bag with the food in it. "Now, since my little boys have already eaten, why don't you two go upstairs and watch some tv for an hour? I'm coming up once I have everything in the fridge!"

"Yes momma!" Logan slides down his mother's legs down to the floor and then he walks out of the kitchen with Jack following closely behind.

Bridget listens for their steps on the stair case and the opening of the Sleepover-room door. After that she pulls her burger and fries out of the bag and then goes to the fridge and pulls out a mini can of sprite to have with her dinner as she waits for the salmon to be done.

"That is one amazing little boy!" Derek sits down at the kitchen table opposite her.

"He sure is, I can't take full credit for it, his father and stepmother have a huge part in him being the way he is." Bridget takes a bite out of a fry. "He didn't do anything bad did he?"

"No, he got tired there for a while but he took a nap laying on my back as Nick, Jack and I walked around the bug house."

"That was probably the best thing you could do when he napped. I know Jack absolutely loves bugs, Logan not so much so I'm thinking he's pretty thankful for that." She takes a bite out of her burger.

"Yeah, on the way to the diner Jack was talking about how awesome a certain bug was and Logan looked at me in the rearview mirror with confusion in his eyes and so I told him that he was sleeping while we went there and he said thank you. He is so well mannered that little boy."

Bridget looks up at Derek from her food with pride and joy all over her face at his words of praise for her son.

"He really is. My pride and joy."

"And Nick is a really funny guy to hang out with."

"Well, that's good to know as you'll probably will be spending a lot of time with him if we work out!" Bridget continues chewing on her fries and her burger.

"I figured that's what was going on when you said that Nick and Jack might want to come." Derek says with a smile on his face.

"Yeah, Nick needs to know he can trust you with his son and you needed to get to know Nick. Nick allowing you to drive his son tells me that he trusts you. That's all I needed to know!"

Derek looks at her with wonder in his eyes. "So, if your ex-husband trusts me to care for his son, I'm an okay guy?"

Bridget has finished eating and goes to put everything away. "Absolutely! And Steffy definitely trusts you, otherwise we wouldn't be where we are."

"Really? Why is that?"

"Well, I texted her after that first walk through of the house and she said she just knew you were made for me. I decided to just let things happen and now my son absolutely adores you, so how could I not do the same. Nick was just the last thing you needed to conquer. I do the same for him."

"Oh, okay." He gets himself off the chair and walks over to her and gives her a hug. "Thank you for adoring me!"

"Hahaha, you really thought I wouldn't?"

"Naah, I'm adorable, so how could you not?"

"I guess you're right. Now, I need to get my boys down for bed before they fall asleep in the bean chairs. It's been a big day today for them."

"Yeah, I'm sorry for not asking you when he brought up the idea."

"No worries, I knew he'd be safe with you no matter what you were doing!"

He bends down and gives her a kiss. Their first one. Her knees go weak and he has to hold her up.

"Well, that was unexpected." He says with a small smile on his lips as he presses his forehead against hers.

"It certainly was." She looks up into his eyes. "Don't break mine or his heart."

"I will do my very best to keep that from happening."

"Good! You wanna come upstairs and check on the boys with me before you leave?"

"I do!"

So, they walk upstairs and checks on the boys, true to form, they had fallen asleep in the bean chairs.

" _You take Jack and put him in the top bunk and I'll take Logan and put him in the bottom one!_ " Bridget gives directions.

Both boys end up in their beds without waking up so Bridget turns the tv off and then the two adults walk down stairs to say good bye.

They give each other a hug and then they kiss once again. Bridget opens the door and sends him on his way.

"That was a very good day!"

~Things happen~

 **AN:**

 **Okay, so, Michala didn't know about Thomas being married previously, that was a surprise to me, but hey, neither did Wyatt.**

 **Hope has finally come around from hating Steffy for simply being alive and they're making plans.** **And** **Steffy is thinking about re doing the custody papers. There's just something that needs to happen first and it's coming up in future chapters.**

 **Brirek is officially a couple and I'm happy for Bridget. Brooke has also moved to New York, that's good.**


	13. Chapter 13

**AN:**

 **I DO NOT OWN A THING! This is written purely because of my wish to like the show again and Bradley Bell is making it so difficult, so here I am.**

Things happen

 **Chapter thirteen**

 _May 9_ _th_ _2014_

 _LA_

 _Rick Forrester´s apartment._

He feels someone slowly making their way on to the bed and turns around, wraps his arm around their waist and brings them in close. "Someone is being extra cuddly today!"

"She sure is, she came and argued with me in the kitchen a few minutes ago!" Caroline walks through the door into the bedroom after getting them some breakfast in bed.

"Well, who won?" Rick has opened his eyes to look at his girlfriend.

Caroline puts the tray down on the bed in between them before giving the little tabby a stroke around her face. "Well, I didn't."

"That's my girl!"

"So, how are you feeling about the changes at the company?"

"I might not have been entirely positive about them before, but I can see how it's working out. They will be good for the company, it just took some time to adjust to them."

"That's good because I really think it was in the best interest of the company to do them."

Ridge had been named CEO, Rick was president, Thorne was co-CEO for Forrester International together with Ridge and Wyatt was vice-president because Bill owned part of the company. Steffy was named head of PR and it wasn't really a change, but it cemented her place in the company. Michala was still Steffy´s assistant and it was something everyone was happy with. Wyatt also had a part in handling the shipping department and he was thriving.

In his will, Eric had named Ridge CEO until the day he dies or chooses to leave the seat himself.

As his first act as CEO, Ridge had decided to stop focusing on one line at the time and bring all the lines forward, it would put an increased workload on the PR department, but Steffy had seen the changes coming and hired a few more people and divided her work force between the lines in the lineup.

He had brought back the Intimates line, as well as Brooke´s bedroom and made the lines focus on different forms of lingerie. The Intimates line focused more on lingerie to be worn under the clothes that Forrester brought out, Brooke´s bedroom focused on seductive lingerie for women to wear for their significant other. They also had brought out a sleepwear-line and a swimwear-line.

Couture was brought back and they created a line of clothes worn more every day, called exactly that and when they had announced the Everyday-line there had been an outcry for it from the stores that sell their lines.

Hope for the Future had received a revamp as well and had added a lighter form, a more youthful version, of the Intimates line as well as the Swimwear-line, making it more of a one stop shop.

The Men´s line had been brought back as well and it was such a big success that they wondered why they had removed it from the line up at all, then they remembered.

By the end of the year, they would know if the decision to do it like this had been a good one, but as it stood right now, their sales figures had increased by twenty five percent and they were steadily rising.

Caroline had been named head of design because Ridge would focus on the administrate parts of the running of the company for the next few years and wouldn't have time to do as much designing. They also realized that they needed to reinforce their design team now that Thomas had left, Ridge would be focused on the business part of Forrester Creations and Eric had passed away.

So, the next two weeks would be spent finding the new designers. They had decided that they would need at least four new designers and they had decided to divide their seasons up into six instead of the normal four, although the clothes from the previous seasons would still be available through a web-based shop.

"So, are you ready for the first interview today?" Caroline looks over at her boyfriend.

"I am, I'm looking forward to it actually. After reading through the applications I know which ones I feel should get the job and I'm thinking Ridge is in agreement with me. What about you?" He looks over at her and sees the confusion on her face. "You will be working with them and you will be their boss."

"Yeah, I look forward to meeting them all, it's exciting."

They had finished eating breakfast and given the kitten a cuddle and then went to get ready for the day ahead.

They walk through the doors of Forrester Creations together hand in hand and meet up with Ridge, Wyatt and Steffy in Ridge´s office. Caroline walks in and hugs everyone inside, Rick on the other hand just says hello and then they're all good.

"So, you all ready for this?" Steffy asks.

"Most definitely." Wyatt agrees.

"Well then." Ridge smiles. "Let's do this!"

~Things happen~

Over the last few months since her husband died, Stephanie Forrester had been proud of the way the family had handled the changes within the family and she knew that the family was in great hands.

She loved the updated version of the mansion and looking at the way the family had magically come together at the hands of Ridge and Taylor had been amazing because no one had believed that the ax could be buried the way it had been.

But apparently, Brooke leaving was probably the best thing that could have happened.

At this particular moment, Stephanie was sitting on a chair in the guesthouse she currently lives in since leaving the Mansion to her son and his wife while reading a book. She knew there were interviews being held for the new designers at Forrester Creations and she didn't want to get in the way of those.

So, she was catching up on her reading. About halfway through the book, there's a knock on her door and so she walks over to the door and opens it. A smile breaks out on her face when she sees who's on the other side.

"Hi Stephanie!"

"Hi Bridget! Shouldn't you be working right now?" She brings her in for a hug.

"You would think, that right?" She sees Stephanie nod. "I have the day off because I have patients that are going to get induced this weekend so I have today and Monday off."

"Well, hopefully it works out well and those babies are healthy."

"I haven't been with them from the start, but we've formed a bond and they wanted me there, so I'll be there!"

"Well, a good doctor cares for their patients no matter what capacity that might be."

They walk over to the couch and sit down.

"How is Derek doing?"

"He's doing wonderfully, we made our relationship official this weekend and he and Thomas are working wonderfully together."

"That's good!" Stephanie winks her eye at Bridget. "I heard something about that from Nick while he was here."

"Yeah, I couldn't introduce my child to someone without having Nick give his opinion of him as well. I mean, they had to meet while the renovations were going on and Logan fell for him completely. After the renovations were done and Logan and I were sitting down to eat our supper, he asked me if I was going to marry Derek and I didn't know what to say, so he explained that he thought he would be an amazing stepfather. So, when Derek called me a week later, I took the chance and went on a date with him and here we are."

"He came and saw me a few days ago actually, he wanted to know if I liked the renovations of the Mansion and it gave me a chance to get to know him a little better and I have to say that I think that he's a wonderful man and he's so lucky to have you. It's a good match!"

"Thank you! Steffy really is a good match maker."

"She really is!" Stephanie then thinks about what Bridget just said. "What do you mean?"

"Well, apparently when Steffy first met Derek, she just knew he was for me the moment she saw him. I'm glad though, I met a wonderful man and he's such a good role model for my son."

"Yes, I agree. How do you think they're doing over at Forrester Creations?"

"I think they are doing good. I believe that they will find the people they are searching for soon."

"So, will you be staying for lunch? Taylor stopped by yesterday with some pasta and she came with quite a lot of food."

"I'd love to!"

~Things happen~

 _Forrester Creations_

 _Ridge´s office._

They had talked to two people about the job as designer for Forrester´s, two of which had been Rick´s favorites on paper, but he could tell that they wouldn't work well with Caroline and so he agreed with Ridge that they weren't a good fit. They had also screwed up during the design test. Caroline had done a design yesterday and then Steffy described that same design to the applicants today and neither managed to get even close to the design made by Caroline.

Right now, it was almost lunch time and the next one they were going to meet hadn't been a favorite of Rick´s and he didn't think Ridge liked him very much either.

"So, next one?" Ridge sighs deeply.

"Yeah, let's get this one over with."

Ridge calls out to Pam via the intercom to let the next one in.

There's a knock on the door and Ridge calls out to enter.

The door opens and a man walked through the door. He was dressed in a black suit, a white dres shirt, black shoes and a dark red tie. He has his light blond hair in a ponytail in the back and he walk with confident steps over to the desk and holds his hands out.

"Hello!" All five present says Hello back. "My name is Nathan Evans and I'm thankful that you took the time to see me! I've always wanted to work at Forrester Creations and this is such a wonderful opportunity!"

After introducing himself, they talk back and forth for about an hour.

"So, we've got a challenge for you..." Steffy hands over a design sheet as well as the pencils that are most commonly used at Forrester Creations. "..yesterday, Caroline here drew a design that we'd love to see you do and I will describe it to you and we'll see how you do."

Steffy starts describing and half an hour later, Nathan hands his design over.

"Thank you! We will let you know within the next two weeks!" Steffy reaches out to shake his hand and sends him a small smile.

The rest of them shakes his hand as well and then they watch him leave.

"Well, that's one down, three to go." Ridge exclaims looking at the design sheet in front of him.

The dress was almost identical to Caroline´s, in fact, it was even better than Caroline´s.

"I agree!" Rick says.

Caroline, Wyatt and Steffy nod their heads.

"So, lunch everyone?"

Just as everyone is about to leave, Taylor pokes her head through the door. Ridge´s eyes light up and he invites her in.

"So, I heard you were busy all day today interviewing for the designer positions and I thought I'd come by with a little bit of lunch!" Taylor comes into the room carrying a picnic basket and a plastic bag.

"I knew there was a reason I married you!"

She opens the basket and pulls out sliced chicken breast, potato salad, cut up vegetables, a sliced-up watermelon and some bottles of iced tea. Then she starts pulling cutlery and plates out of the bags.

"I borrowed these from the dining hall here at Forrester, but I'll put it back before I leave!" Taylor hands out the plates and cutlery to each of the other five in the room. "Go ahead, eat!"

She watches them all put food on their plates and then puts some on her own and then they talk about stuff while eating.

"This was delicious, thank you for bringing food Taylor!" Rick sends a smile her way.

"It sure was!" Wyatt agrees.

"This was really good mom! Thank you for bringing lunch!"

Caroline walks over and gives Taylor a hug while thanking her for lunch and then Ridge comes over and gives her a kiss.

"Well, you got to feed the troops when they need it!" Taylor smiles with a sparkle in her eyes. "Now, I need to go so you can continue speaking to the potentials!"

Taylor backs all the containers back into the picnic basket and the cutlery and plates into the plastic bag and then she leaves.

~Things happen~

When the day is over five hours later, they had met with four more and out of the four, only one stood out and so two of the four places were filled. However, two out of seven were a really bad number, but they had another eight to see the beginning of next week.

"Well, that was productive." Steffy says with a sigh.

"Yeah! But I thought we had narrowed it down to the best of the bunch, what if the people we are seeing on Monday are equally bad as the five we've rejected?"

"Well, if they are, we'll go through the applications we've rejected again and see which ones we could entertain the idea of. I know that the four we want have applied, we just need to find them." Ridge groans. "If only they wouldn't be so hard to find."

"Well, sometimes it's just bad luck that you don't find who you're looking for!" Steffy runs her hand over her father´s shoulders. "At least we found two!"

"Yeah, I guess. So, are you two going home now?" Ridge looks over at Wyatt and Steffy.

"I have a date with my beautiful daughter over at her father´s house in about an hour, so I better get going." Steffy explains. "Are you coming with me or are you going home?"

Steffy looks at Wyatt for his answer.

"Well, I thought I'd go home and start on dinner so it'll be finished when you get there."

"Good! You'll ride home with dad then?"

Wyatt looks over at Ridge and sees him nod. "Yes, that I'll do! I'll see you in a little bit!"

"See yah!" Steffy packs up her things and leaves for her ex´s house.

The other four sees her leave.

"Well, we'll see you all on Monday if not sooner." Rick says as good bye.

"Yes! We will!" Ridge sends a smile their way.

"Tell Taylor that lunch was delicious!"

"Will do!" Wyatt and Ridge watch Caroline and Rick leave. "Should we go then?"

"Yes, I'm hungry!"

So, they pack up their things, walk out to the car and sets off towards home. Ridge drops Wyatt off at the house and then proceeds to go home. He parks the car and walks over to the guesthouse to say hello to his mother. He knows that Taylor will start dinner when she hears the car coming and it should be done when he has talked to his mother.

~Things happen~

When the workday was over on Monday, they had found one more that they were still interested in.

"This just isn't going to be good enough." Ridge exclaims after the last applicant has left the office.

"Yeah, well, Wyatt and I took the liberty of checking the applications again over the weekend and we think we have found four that could possibly work well with us out of the ones we rejected the first time around." Steffy places four files on the table for the other three to read. "I want to see how they do with the design challenge because they all do wonderful designing."

"Okay, we'll call these four, have them meet in Steffy´s office all four of them at the same time and they will have to do the challenge and after that we'll talk to them?" Ridge offers.

"Sounds good to me!" Wyatt agrees.

"Let´s take one each and Steffy can go prepare for tomorrow."

Steffy agrees and leaves for her office, sets up four stations with a design sheet and a set of pencils and when she's back, the other four have finished talking to the four suggested.

"You all ready for tomorrow?" Steffy says.

"Yes!" Ridge says.

"Okay then, let's go home! Are you riding home with me?" She directs the question at Wyatt.

"Yes, I rode in with you and I believe Ridge has plan with your mom!" She turns her head over at her father who nods his head with a big smile on his lips.

"Well then, let's go. We just need to pick Kelleigh up over at Spencer Publications." She walks over to get her bag and then they leave.

Ridge leaves to meet up with Taylor and Caroline and Rick heads on home.

~Things happen~

The next day finds Steffy standing behind her desk looking out at four very different people.

On the left side of the couch, there's a man in his early thirties with dark brown, almost black hair, looking like he was a part of the movie Grease with John Travolta and Olivia Newton-John.

To the left of the couch, there's another man sitting, he's a blonde guy in his late twenties and he's dressed in a pair of black jeans, a white t-shirt and a red flannel shirt with a pair of black converse.

In the group there is only one woman and she appear to be about Steffy´s age, with red hair and a style that's very unique.

The last male of the group is a man in his late thirties and a typical blond surfer dude, he actually reminds her very much of a character from Veronica Mars called Dick Casablanca, but more well-mannered.

"Okay, so. David, Austin, Sally and Jacob, were you told yesterday what we would be doing today?" All four shake their heads. "Well, okay, Caroline Spencer drew a design for a challenge for these interviews, I regret to tell you that you four were not chosen for the first round of interviews and after interviewing the ones chosen, they didn't match up to what we wanted so we looked at your applications again."

Steffy sees the hurt and then joy in their eyes as she's talking.

"Now, some of you might not get to the interview stage of today, it all depends on how you do with the challenge. What's going to happen is that I'll describe what's on this design sheet and you will have to replicate it to the best of your abilities."

She looks at each of them and sees them nod their head in understanding.

"Good, let's begin!"

So, she describes the dress leaving out that it'll be for a girl in her early teens. It's a light-yellow fabric with gold stars scattered on it all over and a yellow ribbon around the waist.

Half an hour after she started describing the dress, she tells them to write their names on the design sheet and then hand them to her.

She tells them to sit in the lobby and wait for her to call them back in and then she walks through the door into her father´s office that's connecting to hers.

"Well, three of them did a good enough job figuring out that it was a dress for a young girl."

She places all four on her father´s design table.

"Well then, take forth one away." And Steffy takes away Austin´s design, leaving Sally, Jacob and David still on the table.

She then places Caroline and Nathan´s above the three designs from this morning.

"Who do we choose?"

"Let's call Caroline and Rick in here."

As it happens, Caroline and Wyatt are about to walk through the door having had a hunch that they were needed.

"Hey! Did they do well?"

"They did, we were about to call you and Rick just now Caroline, but you and Wyatt will do!" Steffy explains. "So, which one do you think should be the one?"

Steffy goes to sit down while waiting for Wyatt and Caroline to choose and as they're contemplating, Rick walks through the door from Steffy´s office as he has the office across the hall from Steffy´s.

"How is it going?"

"Well, we're down to three now."

Wyatt, Caroline and Rick take a look at the three remaining designs.

"Well, I think we should talk to all of them, maybe we could hire all three, I mean they are really good all of them." Rick makes a suggestion.

"Yeah, I agree with that." Steffy says and then the other three agrees. She walks back into her office, opens the door and calls out for David, Sally and Jacob to come on through, she then turns to Austin and tells him that he's not what they're looking for at the moment.

Over the next two hours, they talk about why the three want the job and so much else. About midway through, they decide to do an impromptu challenge again and all three designs look almost identical.

"Okay." Ridge looks over to the others and sees all of them looking at all three. "We're going to give all three of you a chance. You each have a year to prove yourself and if we feel like it's not a good fit, the contract automatically expires. However, if you reach the end of the year and we feel like it's a good fit, you'll get another contract to sign where you'll be hired until further notice."

They all give small smiles and thanks them for the opportunity.

"I'll see you all Monday! Have a good week!" Caroline sends them off and they see them leave.

"Well, that was stressful." Steffy leans back after sitting down on the couch. "I'm going to go to Spencer Publications and pick up my daughter. I'll see you all right here on Thursday next time. Wyatt, I'll see you at home!"

"We'll see you back at work then!" Rick and the rest wave her off. "I agree with Steffy though. That was stressful!"

"Well, although stressful, we've got the new designers we wanted and that's what matter." Ridge points out.

"Yeah, but it's time to get back to work." Caroline starts packing up her stuff.

The rest of the day is pretty uneventful.

~Things happen~

 _August 1_ _st_ _2014_

 _Banks, Andrews and Joly Law firm_

 _Joy Andrews office_

It had finally happened. Steffy had been told to go to Paris for a week by her father to gather some numbers from Forrester International and so Kelleigh had been brought to her father and stepmother and although Steffy missed her daughter like crazy, she knew she was safe.

Steffy had come back the night before and was currently spending time with her lawyer working on something that would change many lives.

"Well then. I guess we're done here? Everything is in order and we just need some signatures."

Steffy smiles at the young woman sitting across from her. "Good! I'll let you know when I have them!"

"Yeah, I'll see you when it's time to file the papers."

Steffy gathers her things as well as the legal documents and then she says good bye to her lawyer and makes her way to her ex-husbands home to collect her daughter.

She rings the doorbell and hears her daughter saying " _Mama, mama, mama!"_ through the door which puts a smile on her face. In her hands, she's holding the legal documents.

Hope opens the door and lets her in. Kelleigh had started walking just after the interviews in May and seeing her mother in person, Kelleigh races towards the door.

"Hello Baby girl! Have you been a good girl for daddy this week?" She picks her daughter up and Kelleigh grabs a hold of her cheeks and gives her a big kiss on her lips. "I guess so!"

Steffy throws a glance over at Hope to get confirmation, which she gets as well as a smile.

"Where is Liam?"

"He should be getting back from a quick trip to the office any minute now!"

"Okay, I have some papers I need him to look at when he gets back, could you give them to him and the two of you could read them over together? They concern both of you!"

"Okay, I'll make sure he gets them!"

Then they hear a car coming up the driveway and Hope laughs a little. "Well, now you can give them to him yourself!"

They hear the door handle turn and Liam comes walking through the door. "Well, look who's home from Paris!"

"Well, I've been home for a while already. I dropped off the papers to dad and then went and saw my lawyer about something. Here you go!" She hands the papers over and watches him read what they say.

Both Hope and Steffy sees the moment it clicks in his mind what the papers mean.

"Don't you think it's too soon?"

"No, I've been planning this since the house was ready, I just needed to see what would happen if you were to have to care for her longer then a weekend and according to the great reviews you got from our daughter. It's time! Take the papers to your lawyer and see what he says, we'll have a meeting with both our lawyers and make a schedule for when she's going to be here and when she'll be with me."

His face lights up and he looks at his wife to see how she feels. Hope just nods her head.

"I trust you both with my daughter and I would hope that you feel secure enough in caring for her that you'll jump at this chance. The two of you should talk this over and then call me when you've decided what to do! It's time, Liam!" Steffy starts looking around. "Now, we need to go home. I got to have my daughter cuddles!"

Steffy finds the diaper bag as well as the pack n' play that she had brought with her when she left her daughter before leaving for Paris.

She looks over at Hope. "Will you help me get all of this to the car?"

"Yeah, Liam can look the papers over while we pack Kelleigh´s things into the car." Hope goes and gathers some things that had been scattered.

When she gets back, Steffy has already put Kelleigh in her car seat and was on her way back to pick up some stuff. Both women stop when they see Liam sitting on the couch with a silly grin on his face reading the papers through one more time, Steffy catches Hope´s eyes and winks at her. Hope chuckles and then winks right back.

Both of them walk out to the car and put the stuff in the trunk. Steffy then turns to Hope and gives her a hug and Hope hugs her back.

"Remember, you two need to talk about the choice you'll be making. The end result will impact both of you. I also need both of your signatures on the papers."

"Why? I mean, she's your and Liam´s daughter."

"Well, she'll be your daughter too if we share custody and you need to be able to make choices for her medically if Liam nor I can be there. Thomas, Michala and Wyatt will sign the papers as well because I live with them and if neither of us three will be able to care for Kelleigh due to one reason or another, they will have the legal right to do so." Steffy smiles. "It takes a village to raise a baby, I'm just creating my village."

"Okay, we'll look the papers over and then talk to our lawyer about setting up that meeting."

"Good. Thomas, Michala and Wyatt will be signing even if the two of you don't whatever the reason. Maybe you're just not ready yet, but I believe you are. I certainly am!" Steffy walks over to the passenger side to check on her daughter. "Take the weekend to think about it, then let me know!"

"We will!" Hope nods her head. "Are we still on for freezer meals next weekend?"

"Absolutely. Bridget is joining us tomorrow to go over the plan for shopping and time management and all that. She felt it worked out wonderful last time. So, we'll be planning all weekend. Logan has apparently been shipped off to Nicks and they'll be doing all sorts of fun things."

"Good! I'll let you know when we've decided!"

"Good! I'll look forward to your call!"

Steffy then walks over to the driver's side and waves good bye as Hope walk up to the door and waves back.

Hope then opens the door and walks inside to sit down next to her husband.

"So, what do you think?" She asks him gently.

"I don't know if I'm ready for it. I mean, when Steffy agreed to add that we'd revisit the custody agreement in the future, I thought it was years down the line, not before Kelleigh is even one year old!"

"I think she was waiting for me to accept that Kelleigh would be a part of your life. I don't think she saw any reason to wait as long as you thought it should take and like she said, she needed to see that we could take care of Kelleigh longer than just a weekend and we just did. It's been a long time coming. We could choose to not do half with her and half with us. But maybe seventy-five at Steffy´s and twenty-five with us or whatever percentage that you would prefer. But I do think that we're ready for this." She brings him in for a reassuring hug. "We have the weekend to decide, let's sleep on it and we'll talk more in the morning."

"Yeah, okay. Did you talk to Steffy about next weekend?"

"I did, she, Thomas, Michala, Wyatt and Bridget will be planning their food this weekend, so I think we should do that tomorrow, then they'll be doing the shopping all weekend. If we do it like last time, it's going to be prep work on Saturday with vegetable chopping, bread making and pasta boiling, then assembly on Sunday."

"Good, do you want to go out to dinner tonight? I don't feel like eating in the house tonight."

"Yes, I'd love to!" Hope smiles at him. "Let me go get ready!"

~Things happen~

 **AN:**

 **Well, there we go. Good chapter!**

 **On January 15** **th** **I started going to school again and therefore, there will be longer between posts from now on.**


	14. Chapter 14

**AN:**

 **Read chapter 13 before this one! I did a double post in celebration of my one year anniversary of this story!**

 **I don't own anything in regards to the show.**

 **It seems my writers block totally vanished when I started chapter 10 of Things happen because I've been on a roll lately, adding Floating memories has done wonders for my writing.**

 **So, people who look like the new characters in this fic. I see Wes Ramsey as Nathan Evans, an older Aaron Tveit as David Morgan (he stared as Danny Zuko in the live version of Grease that aired in 2016), Ryan Hansen as Jacob Anderson, Courtney Hope as Sally Lee (trying to make it without using her grandaunts connections to Spectra) and then I don't really know who I see as my Carol Englund. I just don't, at least right now, she's not in the fic that long either so I don't think you need to see any one as her.**

 **Anyways, back to Things happen.**

Things happen

 **Chapter fourteen**

 _August 5_ _th_ _2014_

 _Caroline's studio_

 _Forrester Creations_

Nathan had worked at Forrester Creations for three months now and at the one-month mark, he had been offered a permanent position, he had started at the same time as four others, but it seemed that only two of them would be offered the same as him.

Carol and Sally seemed to be really good designers, but Carol didn't fit well with the team and Sally seemed to be having troubles getting the thoughts in her head down on a design sheet. Carol had also clashed with Caroline Spencer within the first month of being there and she didn't seem to be able to grasp the concept of the lines she'd be working on.

David and Jacob on the other hand fit right in, both had a grasp on what Forrester Creations stood for and they made great designs.

Nathan had been put on designing for Couture, David was in charge of both Intimates and Brookes bedroom and Jacob had such a talent for designing for the younger clientele of Forrester Creations. Sally had been put in charge of Everyday and Carol was designing for Hope for the Future. Nathan and David also designed for the Men's line.

Caroline had final say on everything before it got put into production, all of them had small things they needed to change, but neither of the men had needed to change an entire design like Carol and Sally had and it had happened over and over.

The management of Forrester Creations had proved to be very encouraging to improve and see where they would end up, but after three months of failed designs and only costing the company money, Nathan felt like they were on their last chance.

He was proven right when Caroline and Carol came walking into the studio and Carol looked like she was about to cry.

Caroline walked right by him over to her desk and Carol walked over to her design station and started packing up her things. As she's packing, the head of PR peaks her head through the door.

"Hey Caroline!"

Caroline lifts her head up from the computer and finds Steffy looking at her.

"Hey Steffy! What's going on?"

"Well, Michala, Aly, Kelleigh and I wanted to know if maybe you'd like to come with us and have lunch? We're going to ask Hope as well, but you were closer!"

"Oh, yeah, I'd like that. It's drop off day today right?"

"Yes, Hope will be taking Kelleigh with her after lunch. I figured she'd like some girl time before getting cooped up at home until Liam gets there."

"Okay, I'll finish some paperwork while you ask Hope then!"

"Sounds good!"

Kelleigh had followed her mother into work today, as she would every Tuesday for the last few months because it was time for Liams Kelleigh-time and handing Kelleigh off to Hope before going home had been a blessing as Steffy got to spend time with her daughter during the day and then Kelleigh just followed Hope home to her father.

Twenty minutes later, Steffy appeared again and had Michala, Aly, Kelleigh and Hope with her.

"Hey! You ready?"

"In just a minute! Just one more piece of paper!"

"You know what? Aren't you supposed to be the head of the design department?" Steffy looks at Caroline and sees her nod. "Why is there so much paperwork?"

"Well, sometimes I need to do administrative things as well. Can't just draw all the time!" Caroline says with laughter in her voice.

"That is true! Doing the same thing over and over might be boring in the long run."

During the last three months, Nathan had been watching the dynamics of the Forrester/Spencer-girls and he had noticed that Steffy was very outgoing, incredibly business savvy and wasn't afraid to say what she wanted. She was also loyal to her family like no other. The way she had taken her younger cousin under her wings showed so much love. Aly Forrester had been so unsure of herself when she came home at the beginning of the summer but working with Michala and Steffy had done wonders and Aly turned out to be loyal, outspoken and very approachable, she was most often the first person you talked to if you wanted to see the PR-department about something.

You could tell that Michala would probably do anything for Steffy if Steffy needed it and this had automatically transferred over to Aly as well when they started working together.

There was a subtle rivalry between Steffy and Hope, but it had decreased over the last few months, Nathan was pretty sure it has some roots in the fact that Steffy had given birth to Hopes husbands daughter, but it probably went back further than that.

Caroline seemed to be a natural fit with the other girls, especially since she was going to marry Hopes brother.

There was a strong sense though that Steffy was the glue that held them together, although at first glance, you might think that Hope held that position.

He watched them all leave the studio and then turned to Jacob.

"They really are a close family."

"They are, they've had their ups and downs, but what family doesn't?"

"I don't think there's any family that doesn't have issues."

"So, how are things going?" Jacob points towards the design sheet that Nathan is working on.

Today was one of the days he and David was working on designs for the Mens line and the next line would have darker versions of your typical fall colors as the main focus. Burnt oranges, burgundy, dark blue, forest green. Nathan was currently working on a pinstriped suit in a dark blue color with orange stripes.

"Why don't you take a look? Tell me what it's missing, because I can't quite figure it out." Nathan holds out the design sheet for Jacob to see.

"Now, I might be a little bit out there, but why is the shirt orange? Wouldn't it be better to reverse the colors of the suit on the tie and just have a simple white shirt underneath?"

"Wait a minute." Nathan turns his attention to a new design sheet and sketches out what Jacob asked. Ten minutes later, he holds out the new version. "You mean like that?"

Jacob just holds his hand up for a high five and Nathan nods his head.

~Things happen~

The girls got to the restaurant and were seated, over the last few weeks, they had been a frequent sight and the staff had almost learned the girls orders and were about to stop asking them what they wanted, especially since all girls ordered the same things every time they were there.

"So, what's new?" Caroline looks around the table.

"The papers have been signed, so I now share custody of Kelleigh with Liam and Hope. Other then that, not much." Steffy smiles at both Caroline and Hope.

"Not much." Aly says timidly.

"Yeah, I have signed a paper regarding Kelleigh as well, it states that I can have her medically treated if neither of her parents are available. Not much else."

It was true, since learning about Thomas previous marriage, the potential marriage between Michala and Thomas had been put on a shelf, she didn't feel like she trusted him enough to let that happen just yet. She knew she wanted to be with him for the rest of her life though, she just needed to trust him completely again.

"Liam and I have been thinking about moving to another house. With Kelleigh increasing her time spent with us, we need to have a little more space, so we've been looking at a house a little ways down the road from the cliff house that has three extra rooms in addition to the same lay out as the cliff house. Before you ask, no, we're not having a baby, we just thought that we'd need space for people to spend the night if needed when Kelleigh is also there and both Liam and I needed an office space." Hope takes a sip of her glass of iced tea and leans back into the chair. "What about you Caroline? Anything new?"

"Well, I just fired one of the newest designers today." She sighs. "It's looking like we'll have to let Sally go as well. It's just not working like I thought it would. The male ones are doing wonders for the team though. I'm so glad we found them."

"How much time do you have until you need to let Sally go?"

"She has two more weeks, but the designs she's been putting out just don't cut it."

"Maybe she's a draper and not a drawer? I know why you fired Carol, you don't talk like that to your boss and if your boss tells you what they think you're doing wrong you should adjust. But maybe the way you're forcing Sally to do her job is the wrong way? Find her a mannequin, give her some muslin or old sheets and have her drape what's in her head for the next two weeks and see what she comes up with?" Michala, Hope and Aly nods their heads at Steffys suggestion.

"That is a good idea actually, Sally is a wonderful woman and she works well with the team so it would be a shame to lose her. I'm going to get on that when we return to work."

The food arrives and the girls loose themselves in the food. As always, Aly is the last to finish her food and Steffy is the last one to finish her drink, Steffy then leans back and sighs before rubbing her belly. "Yes, food baby in the house. That is some really good pasta!"

A chorus of 'I agrees comes after that.

~Things happen~

When they got back to work, Caroline approached Sally the moment she walked through the door.

"Oh oh!" Jacob says while looking worried at the other two. "Do you think she'll come back?"

"I don't know. I hope so though." David is a little worried as well.

Ten minutes later, Sally comes back and they can see she's been crying.

"Hey!" Nathan approaches her first. "What happened?"

"Ms. Spencer wanted to let me know that I'm on probation, but that she was looking into something that might change the way I work. While at lunch, Ms. Forrester told her that maybe I'm not a drawer but a draper and she was going to find a mannequin for me and see what happens. Maybe I'm more of a hands-on type of designer. I don't know, I've never draped before."

"Well, it'll be a surprise then if you like doing it and they like what you come up with."

"It will. She also said that since she doesn't have a mannequin right now, I could go home and do stuff if I had something I needed to do. So, I'm going to go home and abuse my washing machine and my dishwasher. I might even abuse my vacuum cleaner."

"Well, at least you didn't get fired and management found another way for you to shine if it works. Seems to me that they don't want to lose you. Not many companies would do what they are doing."

"Yes, and I'm grateful to them for it. We'll see how it goes!" She sends a smile to her colleagues. "So, I'll see you tomorrow! Have a good and productive afternoon!"

"Likewise!"

"Don't break anything while you're at home!"

Sally chuckles. "I'll try not to! See you in the morning!" She then waves as she leaves the studio.

~Things happen~

Hope walked through the door of the cliff house and put Kelleigh down on the mattress in the living room as she had fallen asleep on the way there.

They had gone and bought a playpen and put a mattress in there so that Kelleigh would be confined while she slept in case they weren't aware of her waking up, there were also a bunch of toys in there so that she had something to do if she woke up and they hadn't noticed.

Kelleigh was such a good baby, she could spend time in her crib without starting to cry just waiting for them to come and get her, she was amazing at entertaining herself and was such an easy baby to put to bed.

While Kelleigh was sleeping, Hope took on the task of starting on the carrot mash that Kelleigh was having for dinner that day and while working on that, she decided that she'd start dinner for her and Liam as well. She chopped up some more carrots, some potato and some swede, put it in a pot and waited to put it on until they'd need to.

She had decided on a root-crop mash and faked out pork. It would be delicious.

When she was done with the food and while the carrots for Kelleighs mash was boiling, she went and got a wash loaded and put the wash she had started on this morning in the dryer.

She found out that when she had accepted that Steffy would be a permanent part of her and Liams life together because of Liam and Steffy having a daughter, she made a better wife, housework had been so much easier because no time was spent thinking about what schemes Steffy was thinking up in her head to take Liam away from her. Accepting that Steffy would be a permanent part of their lives had made everything in her life so much easier.

The thing that made her realize that her life had improved since Christmas was when she caught herself humming a song while doing housework two months ago, but that it was a song from Cinderella that they had watched with Kelleigh the day before was an even bigger sign that she was finally happy, content and loving life as it was. She hadn't been humming since before she started High School and singing had been a big part of her life ever since Phoebe died, it made her feel close to her even though she wasn't here anymore.

When she was done with the housework, she went into make shift office in the guest bedroom and got her computer and sat down on the couch so that she would hear if Kelleigh woke up to start working on the revamp of Hope for the Future. The design team had sent her a few designs over her e-mail that Caroline had approved of, but now that Carol had been let go, designs were going to slow down for a while. She was writing up things she liked and what she wanted changed with the designs they had sent her.

She hears Kelleigh start 'talking' to herself about three quarters of the way through her work, she looks over her shoulder and sees that Kelleigh is playing with the toys and seems to be doing all right playing on her own, so she continues doing her work. When she's done, she turns around again.

"Hello!" She gains Kelleighs attention. "Are you hungry?"

Kelleigh raises her arms up so Hope gets off the couch and walks over and opens the gate to the playpen. Kelleigh crawls over to the fence closest to her and then pulls herself up and toddles over to Hope. Hope then helps her over the threshold of the playpen and then she holds Kelleighs hands as Kelleigh focus on getting herself into the kitchen.

She picks her up to put her in the high chair and then fixes a bowl with carrot mash and a small amount of apple sauce.

Liam arrives home as Kelleigh is eating. "Dada!"

"Well, if it isn't my two favorite girls! Hello honey!" He places a kiss on Hopes forehead and then kisses his daughter on the top of her head. "Hi baby girl!"

"Could you start the stove to cook the roots for our mash?" Hope asks of her husband.

"Of course!" Liam walks over to the stove and places the pot on the right hotplate and then turns it on. "So, how has today been?"

"It's been good! The girls went out for lunch and then Kelleigh and I went home, I got some laundry done and I got a load of dishes done. Started on dinner and now Kelleigh is having her snack, hence the apple sauce with the carrot mash. I've also gotten som work done while Kelleigh slept after we got home. Kelleigh spent about half an hour playing by herself while I got done with work and you just walked through the door. It's been a good day!"

"That's good!"

"Mmm. They let one of the designers go today and she had Hope for the Future as her main line so my job is going to get a little hectic. But it's alright. I have you and Kelleigh to take my mind off of things right now. So, have you thought anymore about the house?"

"I have actually and if you agree with me, I think we should put in an offer. We have the money and we don't need to sell this house, so we're in a really good position."

"I talked about it at lunch and all the girls agreed that it would be a good investment in case our family grows down the line to already have the room and not have to move while I'm pregnant or we're in the middle of adoption or something that need our whole focus. It's a good thing to do now."

"I'll go call our real estate agent and ask him to put an offer in."

"Yes, I think Kelleigh is about done, so after you made that call you have daddy-daughter time planned while I do dishes, put the last load of laundry in the machine and fix the mash for dinner!"

"Good plan!"

~Things happen~

 _August 13_ _th_ _2014_

 _Katherine Dawsons flat_

 _35 weeks pregnant_

The pregnancy so far had been so easy that she was worried troubles might come before the twins got here. This last week things had started happening that told her it was almost time. The pain in her back and lower abdomen had slowly grown and it was causing her discomfort, but it would be worth it in the end.

She had taken a leave of absence from work at the 32-week mark because it had started getting hard to stand up for such a long period of time and over the last few weeks, she had spent a lot of time with Katie getting to know her. They had spent so much time together lately that it felt like they actually were carrying these children as one person and they had bonded as long-lost sisters.

It was time for the last doctor's appointment and she was currently waiting for Katie to arrive to pick her up. Her phone rings indicating that Katie has arrived and thirty minutes later, she's sitting in the waiting room a few minutes before her appointment was scheduled with Katie to her left.

"So, how's the pain in your back?"

"It's a solid three right now and it has been for the last few days, it was a little worse on Friday, but it calmed down. I find that a constant ache is easier to handle than those jabs of pain I had a two weeks ago. I know it's my body preparing itself for the delivery so it's something I'm happily living through."

Katie can see that Katherine is telling the truth because of the joy shining in her eyes.

"Thank you for doing this for us!"

"It's my pleasure! It seems as if me wanting to be your surrogate has expanded your family in one more way though."

"How come?"

"Well, Wyatt and Jessica went on a date last weekend and it seems to have been a success."

"Well, good for them. I've been waiting for Wyatt to find someone since he arrived on the scene. There was a little bit of a rivalry between him and Liam over Hope, but I believe Hope might have just used him to get Liam to get a move on. But hey, they ended up where they should be. At one point I thought Wyatt might end up with Steffy, but after seeing the friendship blossom between the two, I think friendship is the only relationship that will developed between them and now hearing you say he's taken your sister out on a date I must say that they'd be a good couple!"

"I agree with you! And with Derek and Bridget developing their relationship into what seems to be getting very serious, I'd like to thank you and your husband for choosing me as one of the candidates to be your surrogate!"

"Yeah, about Bridget and Derek getting serious." Katie sends a mysterious look Katherines way. "He came to see me a few days ago with a little box that he needed my approval on."

The surprise is evident on Katherines face. "Are you serious?" Surprise turns to joy.

"Yeah, since Rick, Hope and I are the only ones in Bridgets family still living here other then Ridge, I'm guessing he made the rounds." Katies smile is infectious.

"I can't believe he hasn't told me yet."

"Well, it seems like you're a little busy at the moment, I know that it's happy news, but maybe he feels like you should focus on having healthy babies or maybe he's just not ready to share such world changing news although he knows you'd be so happy for him!"

"I guess." She runs her hand over her belly. "I don't mean to be a youknowwhat, but isn't it my turn soon? I'm getting so uncomfortable."

As if a genie had granted her a wish, a nurse came out and called her name. The examination went by without any problem and it turned out that she had dilated since last time she was there and was at a solid four centimeters. Giving even more indications that she was about to deliver the babies.

"Well then, do you want to get some lunch or do you want to go home? I have something I need to talk to you about."

"Well, I am hungry, but I also want to go home."

"Well, I'll get some salads or something and we'll eat at your place."

"Sounds good to me!"

They drive by Katies favorite Café on the way back, so Katie decides to buy their lunch there. When she comes back to the car, Katherine has fallen asleep, knowing Katherine hadn't gotten much sleep, Katie maneuvers herself into the car without making too much noise and she gets them back to the apartment complex where Katherine lives and after parking, she wakes Katherine up to let her know they have arrived.

They go to her apartment and take the food out and start eating.

"So, what did you need to talk to me about?" Katherine puts her fork down after finishing her salad.

"Bill and I was wondering if you'd like to come live with us during the last few weeks of your pregnancy? We'll pay the rent for the weeks you're living with us in case you feel like lending your flat to someone you know if you do come and stay with us. We'll understand if you'd rather stay here and you don't have to feel like you're being forced to move in with us."

"I'll ask Jessica if she'd like to home sit for a few weeks because I'd feel safer if I were to stay with you and I know you'd be less worried in case I start having contractions and not be able to get in contact with anyone if I were to live with you, so I'd like to accept that offer. I just need to ask Jessica if she'd like to live alone for a while. She's living with a group of friends right now and she's started saying that it's getting a little cramped so I don't think it'll be a problem."

"Well, I should go and get my son from daycare, I'll look forward to your call! Thank you for letting me come with you today!"

"Well, they are your children, of course you'd be there for the examinations!"

They've started walking towards the door.

"Well, thank you either way. Let me know what Jessica thinks!"

Both reach in to give the other a hug and as they hug, both babies decide to stretch.

"Oh, my little babies!" Katie bends down to talk a little to the babies before leaving.

After Katie left, Katherine picks her phone up and calls her sister. She knows this is about the time when the construction crew usually eat lunch so she should be able to get a hold of her. It takes three rings before Jessica answers.

"Hi Kath! What's up?"

"Hi Jess! We've been to the OB today and I'm four cm dilated, so we're working towards having these babies, then we went home and had lunch. After lunch Katie asked me a question and I was wondering what you'd say about home sitting for a few weeks until the babies are here?"

"Have they asked you to move in with them? I'd love to house sit. Feeling a little claustrophobic at this point."

"Katie asked a half hour ago. I'm going to accept the offer and I just wanted to know if you'd want to stay in my apartment for a few weeks. Sounds like you're happy to do it?"

"Most definitely!"

"Good, I'll let Bill and Katie know!" She has sat herself down at the kitchen table again.

"Do you need me to come help you pack for the next few weeks and drive you to the Spencer house?" Jessica can hear that Katherine is becoming a little tired.

"Yeah, I'd appreciate that. I'm going to call Katie and let her know you'd do it. She said they'd be paying the rent for the next few weeks so you don't have to worry about that!"

"Awesome!"

Katherine chuckles. "Go back to work now and I'll see you later!"

"Yeah, I'll go home after work, pack a bag with clothes and then come and help you with your stuff to get you hauled off to Katie and Bills house!"

"Sounds good to me! See you then!"

They hung up and Katherine goes and takes a little nap.

~Things happen~

 _August 14_ _th_ _2014_

 _Forrester Creations_

 _Design studio_

He walked through the doors of the studio that morning and what he saw made him smile.

It had been eight days since Sally had started draping her designs instead of drawing the designs on paper first and she had started to shine, he could tell that Caroline was beginning to be pleased with her designs because Sally had gotten all of the designs she had showed Caroline approved and she had also been put in charge of Hope for the Future as well.

The moment Sally got Hope for the Future as well as Every day, Sally had looked up at Caroline with surprise in her eyes, so Caroline had explained that the two lines are almost the same, one for a slightly older demographic then the other being the only difference.

The pace Sally had started designing had also picked up, over the last few days, Sally had produced design after design and considering the fact that she was actually sewing herself as she put the pieces together was showing them what an awesome designer she really was.

"Well, you know, if I hadn't left after you yesterday, I would've thought you'd stayed here all night working!"

Sally looks up at him with a mischievous look in her eyes. "Well, I kind of did. I couldn't let it go, so halfway home, I went to a restaurant, got some take out and then drove to a grocery store and got some breakfast and snacks and then I went back to work."

"No wonder you've finished the design you were working on yesterday. I must say those pants look awesome. Have you figured out what fabrics is going to be used?"

"I'm thinking about a green fabric that was used in a dress for Hope for the Future a few seasons ago that I saw down in the fabrics department. I think it would look good!"

"Yeah, they would look good in green!" He nods his head in agreement.

"So, what are you doing this weekend?"

"Well, I have family coming from Texas, so I'll be showing them around LA for a bit and then we'll just hang out. What about you?"

"I'm going to go to San Francisco tomorrow after work to visit with some family. My great aunt is coming back from a cruise and she wanted to visit with family."

"I hope you have fun!" He smiles at her and then they go back to work. Productivity of the Design department of Forrester Creations had almost tripled when the new designers were added to the fold and now that Sally had found her calling, they expected to increase their productivity even more.

~Things happen~

 _August 25_ _th_ _2014_

 _The Spencer Mansion_

Katie walks down the stairs just before four am that morning because something just isn't feeling right. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she knew she had to figure out what it was.

She checks the kitchen, flushes all the toilets, runs every tap in the house and then she checks on Katherine.

Katherine had felt a few contractions the day before and right now she seemed to be sleeping soundly at the moment.

But there was still this feeling in Katies gut that something was wrong. She goes out to the pool house and checks everything there, nothing seems to be out of the ordinary there either.

She walks back in the house and is drawn towards the bedroom where Katherine is sleeping, for some reason Katies body makes it way all the way to the bed and she leans down to feel Katherines forhead. It's a little warm, but nothing that would be considered dangerous.

"Katherine?" She whispers so that Katherine wakes up gently.

It's not Katie whispering her name that wakes her up though. It's a searing pain originating in her lower back.

She groans as the pain subsides. When it ends, she looks around confused. "What's going on?" The pain builds up again.

Katie has turned on a lamp next to the bed and she can see Katherines face contorting in pain, she grabs hold of Katherines hand and guides her through the pain.

"Well, it looks to me like someone's in labor." Katie smiles at Katherine. "I'm going to go wake up Bill and have him call Wyatt so we can drop Will off at his brothers and then we'll go to the hospital with you! You just breath through it while I'm gone!"

Katherine nods her head and Katie walks out the door and goes up to Bill. She pushes his shoulders down in the bed and shakes him a little. "What?"

"You need to call your son and then we need to go to the hospital with Katherine."

This causes Bill to jump into action. He finds his phone and tracks Wyatts number down.

" _Hello?_ " Wyatt sounds like he's just woken up.

"Well, hello little man. Katie wanted me to call you to tell you we're going to the hospital with Katherine because we're about to become parents of three."

" _Are you serious? Are you bringing Will over or should I come and meet you at the hospital and bring him home from there?"_

"The plan is to drop him off on the way there, but if you could meet up with us someone on the way that might be preferable?"

" _Sure!"_ He then asks about a certain place that he knows is in the middle of the way to the hospital and not that far away from the Spencer-Forrester-James house.

"That will be great! Do you have a car seat?"

" _I do. I can use Kelleighs upgrade. She won't be using that one for a little bit more, but it's dock is installed in Thomas car already as a trial run. I'll ask if I can borrow Thomas car_."

"You do that, we've got some more time before we can get out of here. I'll send you a text when we leave."

" _I'll get everything ready here and talk to Thomas. I'll see you in a little bit!"_

"Yes! See you later!"

Then hang up and Bill goes to pack a bag for Will and try to migrate him from the bed into his car seat. Surprisingly, Will doesn't even open his eyes, apparently Will was very tired today.

He then brought everything downstairs to help Katie get Katherine ready.

"Hey! How are things going? Will is ready to go, I packed a bag and he's in the car seat! I haven't put him in the car yet, but he's ready to go."

Katie looks up from the bag she's packing for Katherine. "Have you gotten the twins bag yet?"

"No, I had my hands full taking our son down, but I'll go get it now. You're okay here right?"

"Yeah, we should be ready to start moving by the time you come down!"

"Good! I'll be right back! Are you doing okay Katherine?" He sees her nodding in the middle of a contraction.

He then rushes to get the hospital bag for the twins.

Ten minutes later they're in the car closing in on the place where Wyatt would be meeting up with them to hand over Will.

They get there just as Thomas car comes around the corner into the parking lot, but it's not Wyatt who's driving. Thomas is.

Bill gets out of the car and takes Wills bag and the pack n' play. Thomas gets out of the car and opens the door on the side where the dock is as well as the trunk of the car.

"Hi!" Thomas smiles big at Bill.

"Hi?" Bill looks confused. "I thought Wyatt would be meeting us here?"

"Yeah, he was, but he sat down in the driver's seat and then looked up at me and said that I should probably go get Will. He just hasn't driven my car enough to trust himself behind the wheel, so he's home starting on breakfast. Now, hand me that toddler so you can go and welcome Maribeth and Eric Spencer!"

"Oh, okay! I can understand that. Especially in this weather!" Thomas nods his head just as a lightning bolt travels across the sky.

Bill goes to the car to get his son and then places the car seat in Thomas car. "He hasn't woken up yet, but he probably will when you get home, what with the warm to cold to warm again."

"Wyatt is starting a bottle of formula after texting him as I'm leaving, if Will wakes up, he'll just have a bottle and then he'll probably go back to sleep! Don't worry about your son, he'll be fine!"

"Yeah, I know, but it's hard either way. Thank you for getting out of bed at this hour!"

Thomas just chuckles. "We hadn't exactly gone to bed yet. Steffy went to bed an hour or so after Kelleigh went to bed, Wyatt drifted off to sleep on the couch within an hour after that, Jessica had already gone to bed and Michala and I were watching a movie. We started it a little late, but something told me to start it late. Anyway, get your wife and Katherine to the hospital!"

"We'll see you later I suppose?"

"Yeah, we'll bring him by this evening! Steffy and Kelleigh will probably come along!"

"Good! I'll see you then!"

Thomas watches Bill get back in the car and drive off after sending the text to Wyatt that he'll be back soon.

~Things happen~

 _Spencer-Forrester-James-house._

Thomas parks his car by the front door and takes a look back into the mirror showing what Will is doing. He sees Will stretching and knows that food is on the agenda as well as a diaper change, so he gets out of the car and opens the door to take the car seat out.

He walks over to the front door, opens it and then treks into the kitchen to drop Will off with his brother before going back to get the gear. After putting the pack 'n play down by the door, he brings the bag into the kitchen so that Wyatt will have it near when he needed it. He sees Will happily suckling the bottle getting his breakfast in. Wyatt reaches out to get the bag and starts setting up a changing station.

"The pack 'n play is by the door. Should I bring it up the stairs to your part of the house?"

"Nah, I'm going to sleep in the guestroom with him the next few hours. The breakfast bake is ready to be put in the oven, I know there was pancakes planned for today, but I felt like the bake would be a better choice."

"Okay! I'll see you in a few hours then! I'm just going to park my car in the garage and then I'll go up to bed. Michala has already gone to bed I take it?"

"Yeah, she went to bed just after you left! Thank you for getting my brother! I wasn't entirely sure I'd be able to drive that beast in this weather with such precious cargo!"

"It's okay. We'll put the dock in your car after we've slept for a bit. I told your father that Steffy and Kelleigh will be coming with to see the babies when they're here!"

"Sounds good! Are we putting Kelleigh's dock in my car as well?"

"Yeah, but let's wait until we know you can visit them!"

Wyatt nods his head, Thomas says sleep tight and then goes to park the car.

~Things happen~

The phone call comes thirteen hours after Thomas went and picked Will up while his parents and Katherine went to the hospital.

Maribeth Alessia was the first of the Spencer-twins to make her way into the world, 19 inches long, five pounds light and with a set of lungs that will drive her parents mad. They could tell from the moment she opened her eyes that she'd have the telltale Henderson-eyes, after her grandmother, to match her massive head of dark brown hair.

Eric Stephen joined the world just four minutes after his sister, 19.5 inches tall and just over five pounds light and a patience they hadn't seen in a baby aside from Kelleigh. The eyes that stared at her when Katie received the little bundle that covered her son, Katie knew instantly that this little boy would carry the Spencer-eyes with him for life. The little tufts of blonde hair on his head would surely turn a lighter shade of his sister's hair when he got older or it would match his older brother Liam's dark blond hair.

Considering the twins were born three weeks before their due date, there didn't seem to be any troubles with their breathing.

When Steffy, Kelleigh, Wyatt, Will and Jessica walk through the door, Katie is sitting on the bed talking to Katherine with little Eric in her arms.

"Look Will, it's your brother and sister!" Steffy points to the little bundles in Katie and Bills arms and Will looks at both of them with interest. "Look Kelleigh! It's your aunt and uncle!"

"That feels so weird to hear!" Katie laughs and Steffy joins in.

"Yeah, it felt weird to say it!" Steffy says in-between laughs.

"It felt weird to see the words coming out of your mouth as well!" Wyatt points out.

"Has Liam and Hope been by yet? Donna?" Steffy turns back to Katie.

"Liam and Hope should be coming by soon, I don't think Donna wants to come see us. She blames us for Brooke leaving." Katie turns her head to look down at her son again.

"So, how are you feeling Katherine?" Steffy sends a smile off to the woman lying in the bed. Katherine in turn gives Steffy a big smile back.

"Oh, I am awesome right now!" Katherine then enters a fit of giggles.

"She's a little high right now!" Bill interjects.

"Oh, I remember that feeling!" Steffy smiles big.

"I don't."

"Yeah, well being put in a coma just after giving birth will cause you to not remember things that happened while you were in the coma." Bill nods his head with tears forming in his eyes.

"Yeah, but she woke up from it and you've got a beautiful family now!" Jessica points out. "One that grew by two, two hours ago!"

Bill looks up at the woman standing in the doorway. "It did and we have your sister to thank for that!"

The pride present in Jessicas eyes is one of the reasons Bill approved of his sons relationship with Jessica. Bill really liked Jessica. She had spunk and talked back at him whenever she felt he was wrong and did so with a big sense of humor.

"She's happy to do it! As you can see!" Jessica points to her sister who's sitting on the bed giggling with Kelleigh.

"I do see that! She wasn't very happy with either of us a few hours ago though! But it was expected!" Bill chuckles.

Jessica then walk over to the bed and sits down on it on the other side and looks at her sister. "You good?"

"So good! Best thing I've ever done!" Katherine looks into Jessicas eyes as she's talking.

Kelleigh then decides that the attention had been taken away from her long enough. "KatKat!"

All six of the adults in the room laughs at the little girls need for attention.

"Oh Kelleigh, you need to learn to wait your turn." Steffy walks over to the bed and collects her daughter. "Yeah, we're going to work on that!"

~Things happen~

 **AN:**

 **I hope my readers have a lovely Easter next week!**


	15. Chapter 15

**AN:**

 **I do not own a thing regarding the show!**

 **Today is my 9** **th** **anniversary on this site and so I decided to post for both I'm done and Things happen! This is the new chapter for Things happen! Let me know what you think!**

Things happen

 **Chapter fifteen**

 _September 6_ _th_ _2014_

 _The S-F/J-house_

Steffy is running around the kitchen trying to get everything ready for tomorrow. It was time for Kelleigh´s first birthday party. 

Liam and Hope were baking the cakes at their house, Thomas and Michala were in charge of decorating the main hall of the house and Wyatt was helping Steffy make the little bite size pieces of food the guests would be eating. There weren't that many people coming, but the people that were coming mattered the most for both Kelleigh and her mother.

Kelleigh had been picked up by her grandparents that morning so that Steffy didn't have to worry about her daughter while prepping for the party.

Steffy had planned the party preparations for the last month making sure everything would work out the way it should on the day of the party. She hoped it would be a success and it would be the twins first appearance at a family function.

The newest additions to the Spencer-family would be two weeks when their niece celebrates her first birthday and having gotten some information from both parents, Steffy knew that Eric had kept his patient personality and that Maribeth had calmed down a lot over the last few days, they just needed somewhere quiet to sleep and a chair or something to lean on while awake.

"Now, I need to figure out where to put the pack n' play for ME when they need to sleep and find where the pillow that Kelleigh used as support while a newborn. But you just keep doing what you're doing. We need to have those done by 3 PM at the latest." She looks at the clock. 1.55 PM and then back at Wyatt.

Wyatt just nods his head and after getting her confirmation Steffy walks off to get things ready for the little ones.

The plan for Kelleigh´s birthday party was your typical first birthday party, until Steffy had fallen down the stairs and she had gotten some sense knocked into her. Now it was a going to be a small, what you might consider a cocktail party, gathering with only family present.

There had been a quick visit to the ER to make sure there was no concussion and while they waited Steffy had started re-planning the party.

There would now be a buffet containing a big lasagna and then some smaller dishes as well as appetizers, some various salads, some other pasta dishes and some melon slices.

Steffy walked through the house checking for the best place to have the twins sleep while they needed to that was also close to the main hall of the house.

The main hall was placed under Wyatt´s 'flat' of the house and it had a small kitchen along the far side of the house.

Thomas and Michala´s suite was situated on top of the kitchen and laundry room while Steffy and Kelleigh´s was on top of the garage. By the landing off the staircase leading up to Wyatt´s suit there was also a big home theater where they would watch movies and things. They had also decided to have a big storage space between Wyatt´s suite and the home theater.

In the part of the house that connected the two legs of the H-shaped house, was a living room and above that was a home gym. On the floor under the home theater there was another storage space and a home office. There was a connecting door between the garage and kitchen so that they didn't have to carry groceries any longer then they needed to.

The outside space between the Main hall and Kitchen/Laundry room contained a fenced pool and some landscaping and the outside space between the Office/storage and the Garage had a U-shaped driveway with a fountain in the middle as well as some other landscaping. Along the short sides to the front of the house there were also spaces to park your car if you've come to visit.

She was very proud of the house they had created together and after thinking about if for a little while she decided to put Kelleigh´s pack n' play in the office next to the main hall and have Bill and Katie place the twins in there as well.

Steffy walks back into the kitchen. "So, is Jessica coming tonight or tomorrow?"

"She's coming tomorrow morning. She had some things to do tonight, but she'll be here early tomorrow."

"Good!"

Jessica had fit into the little group instantly the moment she and Wyatt had started dating. Katherine fit in just as well and Steffy was wondering if Katherine wouldn't possibly be a good match for Carter and had decided to see how they would get along during the birthday party. Yes, Katherine had no plans for kids and Carter wanted them, but you never knew. Meeting the right guy might start her internal clock, plus, she had just given birth to Bill and Katie´s twins and that might have been a piece to changing her mind. If they didn't get along, no harm, no foul. But it would be interesting to see.

With Derek and Bridget becoming a couple as well as Jessica and Wyatt dating the Dawson´s were a permanent feature in the Spencer/Forrester/Logan-family. That first meeting with Katherine had brought so many good things with it and Steffy couldn't be happier.

Steffy and Wyatt continue working on the food for tomorrow.

~Things happen~

 _Katie Spencer´s car._

It was the first time she was driving with the twins in the car and she was a little bit worried. She was on her way over to Taylor and Ridge´s house because she wanted to give it a try to drive with the twins. Will was home with his father and Katie had packed up the twins and gone to see her newest found friends.

There had never been any ill feelings between Taylor and Katie, but since Brooke left for New York, Taylor and Katie had formed a bond that was more sister like then anything. Because she knew that Taylor and Ridge had Kelleigh today, she felt it would be okay to come by as the couple wouldn't be going anywhere anyway.

She comes onto the road leading up to both the Mansion and the S/F/J-house and smiles as she drives by the house that Wyatt shares with the Forrester siblings, Kelleigh and Michala.

The bond between the four adults was strong and they were so funny to watch while spending time together. She almost wanted to go see them, but she knew they had so much to do in preparation for tomorrow that she decided against it and continued down the road.

Maribeth had fallen asleep the moment she was placed in the car seat, Eric continued to look around at everything the whole ride over.

She comes to the gate to the Forrester Mansion and drives up the driveway. She parks the car and starts taking things out when the door to the guest house opens.

"Hey Katie! I thought I heard a car coming."

Katie turns around. "Oh! Hi Stephanie! How are you doing today?"

"I'm doing okay, my left shoulder hurts a little bit, but otherwise I'm doing okay. How are you doing?"

"I just went on my first car ride with the twins on my own so I'm still a little worried, but they seemed to enjoy the ride."

"You have the twins with you?" Stephanie´s eyes start to sparkle.

"I do, do you want to see them?" She sees Stephanie nod her head. "I was on my way to see your son and daughter in law, but I think you'd be a better choice right now! Maribeth is sleeping so we can leave her in the car while getting Eric into the guesthouse."

Stephanie starts smiling. When she had heard the news that Katie and Bill wanted to name their son after Eric, she had felt such great pride in her chest that she had started crying.

Katie brings the diaper bag and Eric into the guesthouse led by Stephanie and then after leaving Eric in Stephanie´s arms, she went out and got her daughter. But before getting Maribeth out of the car, she dropped by the front door and had a small talk with Taylor, who then told her that they would be right over.

About five minutes later, there's a knock on the door and Katie goes to open it with her daughter in her arms. On the other side of the door, Ridge is standing holding a diaper bag of his own and Taylor came strolling up behind him with Kelleigh slowly making her way over to great grandma´s house. Then she sees Katie holding the baby and turns around to be picked up so that she'll get there quicker.

"Well, looks like aunty Maribeth and uncle Eric is the best birthday gift ever!" Taylor says with a laugh as she comes closer to Katie and the little girl.

"Marbet!"

They had gotten surprised the first time Kelleigh knew which of the baby was which just by looking at them and watching the excitement on Kelleigh´s face when in close contact with her aunt and uncle was heartwarming.

The moment Steffy came and saw them at the hospital, it had been decided that Katie would be great aunt Katie.

The second thing Ridge sees as he walked through the door was his mother sitting on the couch with a baby in her arms. When she looks up, there are tears in her eyes.

"Oh mom, it'll be alright. When the time comes you'll see him again."

"Oh Ridge, it's not about Eric. This is about me getting another round of grandchildren to spoil. I know Bill would be happy to leave that to me! Beth might not be, but I really don't care, I've gotten two new grandkids!"

Listening to Stephanie talking, Katie got a little emotional, leading Taylor to reach over and give Katie a hug.

"She's always liked you best you know!" Taylor whispers. "At least of your family. I'm pretty sure she likes me more!"

Katie just nods her head.

"So, are you ready for tomorrow?" Ridge looks over at Katie.

"Yeah, the car ride over here took away my last apprehensions. I can't believe how much things have changed over the last year."

"Well, that's good!" Taylor smiles. "Yeah, it seems to be mostly good things though."

"Most definitely!" Stephanie agrees with her daughter in law. "Liam and Hope have gotten their marriage on track and their offer on the house was accepted so they'll be moving soon. Bridget has found love again. You and Bill have gotten two little ones. Steffy is content and happy with the life she leads. My son has married the second love of his life again. Thorne is moving back to LA, do you think Thorne could live in the Cliff house? I mean it's a Spencer-property, but he needs somewhere to stay. Last time I talked to Felicia she was thinking about moving back as well. She and Dante have rekindled their relationship. Kristen and Tony are stronger than ever. I don't know what's going on with Donna or Brooke, but last I heard Brooke is doing kind of good. Rick is doing great both in the company and with Caroline. Wyatt is on his way to love and Thomas and Michala are getting ready to get married. I just wish Eric could've been here to see his kids get married and see that everything has worked out for the better."

"Yeah. It's an amazing turnaround. I'll talk to Bill about letting Thorne live in the Cliff house" Katie smiles with sparkles in her eyes. "Hey, have you heard about Steffy´s next deed as Cupid?"

Both Douglas-adults look shocked. "I have actually. Do you agree with her? I mean, even after her being a part of the family for almost an entire year, those two still haven't met each other?"

"I do agree actually. I think they'd be really good together. It's just the children-thing that puts a wrench in her plans."

"When she told me about it, she said she'd just introduce them and they'd have to do the rest because of that wrench."

Ridge and Stephanie just look at each other. "I'm sorry, who are you talking about?" Ridge questions his wife.

"Carter and Katherine." Katie looks at them like she's thinking 'Who else?'.

"What do you mean next 'deed as Cupid'?"

"Oh, I know this!" Stephanie exclaims. "Steffy is the one who thought that Derek and Bridget could be a good couple. If she hadn't thought that, she might have dated Derek herself, but she knew almost instantly that Bridget and Derek were made for each other."

"Oh." Ridge leans back in the couch again. "Maybe Steffy is in the wrong business as well? I mean, Thomas seems to be thriving with Derek, maybe Steffy should consider becoming a match maker?"

"Nah, I think she feels like she's made to be in the PR-department." Taylor objects.

"I agree with you there!" Katie looks down at her daughter while talking.

"Yeah, thank you for that by the way!" Ridge gives Katie a small smile.

"You're welcome, although she did it all on her own. I'm sorry for the way we treated you when Bill owned the company."

"Well, that's all over now. I don't think either of us even thinks that much about that time anymore. We've moved on."

Katie nods her head.

"Looks like someone is hungry!" Taylor points out and then nods her head towards Stephanie and baby Eric.

"I got it!" Ridge springs into action, finds the diaper bag, finds a bottle with a green top and goes to warm it up a little bit. Just as Eric starts getting a little fussy, Ridge returns and hands over the bottle to his mother.

Stephanie places the bottle at Eric´s lips and he instantly latches on, suckling away with his eyes open looking at the old lady that's feeding him. "You know what?"

All three other adults in the room look at Stephanie. "Eric looks a lot like Thorne did when he was an infant."

"How could that be? There's no blood shared between them?" Taylor is confused.

"Maybe I'm just seeing things." Stephanie waves her hand in dismissal.

"No, actually, now that you mention it, hasn't there been a similarity between Felicia and Katie all these years?" Taylor looks around at them all. "I mean, they've looked more like siblings then Katie, Brooke and Donna. Storm looked like a blend between Katie and Brooke. Actually, Katie and I look more like siblings then Katie does with her own sisters and they supposedly have the same sets of parents."

All three of them turn towards Katie.

Stephanie reaches a hand over and Katie takes it. "Would you be willing to take a test so that I can find out if my husband cheated on me with your mother after him and I were married as was Stephen and Beth?"

"Absolutely!"

~Things happen~

 _Later that day._

 _Kill´s house_

Katie walks through the door carrying Eric in his car seat and the diaper bag. Maribeth was still in the car sleeping and Katie had no intentions of waking her up right now. Bedtime was about three hours away and this little nap that Maribeth seemed to take this time every day was not something she wanted to rob her daughter of.

So, Katie placed the car seat on the floor and then left Eric in the house while going to get everything else.

Meanwhile, Bill was walking down the stairs with Will in his arms and the two of them sees the car seat with their son/brother in it.

"Eic!" Will´s tears dries up as he sees his little brother.

"Yes! That is your little brother Eric. Do you think that maybe your sister and your mother are here as well?"

Will looks around after breaking eye contact with his father. He gently nods his head. "Mhmm.. Eic not here without momma!"

"And if momma is here, then your sister is as well!" He sees Will nod his head with power. "We'll just wait here then."

Then they hear the doorknob turning. Will turns his head towards his father. "Momma?"

"We'll see!"

The door opens and another car seat comes through the opening. Katie comes through the door and a smile forms on her lips as she watches her little boy and his father staring at her.

"Oh no, have my little boy been crying?" Katie places her daughter on the floor and then walks over to dry his tears.

"Someone woke up from their nap on the wrong side of the bed, but it got better when he saw that Eric was home!" He then notices that she seems a little drained. "What's wrong?"

"Well, turns out I might be a Forrester, not a Logan."

"What do you mean?" He searches her eyes for something.

"Wait a little until I've taken my clothes off and I'll show you some pictures that will make things a little bit clearer."

He watches her take her coat off and then reach down in her purse and take out a stack of pictures. He takes them and looks through them. As he comes to a picture that shows a little boy laying in a crib, he looks up at his wife with a big question mark in his eyes.

"Guess who that is!" Katie motions towards the picture.

"Well, it looks like Eric, our son, but it can't be because he has never slept in that crib."

"That picture was taken almost 55 years ago by Stephanie Forrester of her son Thorne Forrester when he was two months old."

"But he looks just like our son! How is that possible?"

"Well, there's only one thing that makes it possible and that's for Eric to have cheated on Stephanie with my mother and she got pregnant. With me. Also, take a look at the picture of the Forrester-siblings again. Doesn't Felicia look just like me at that age?"

Bill is so confused. "That's a big secret that Eric kept from Stephanie in that case. Can you imagine what Stephen felt if he had found out about it?"

Tears forms in Katie´s eyes. "I think that might be why he left. He found out about mom´s affair and that it had resulted in me and he just up and left."

Bill reaches over and pulls his wife into a hug. "So, what are you going to do about it?"

"Well, Stephanie wants to know the truth, so we're going to get tested." Katie sighs. "This day has been filled with surprises. By the way, Thorne seems to be moving back to LA and Stephanie wondered if maybe he could stay at the Cliff House until he's found a place of his own?"

Bill raises his right eyebrow. "Sure, Liam and Hope won't be living there much longer, I believe they've started packing boxes already. It's going to be empty either way. Might as well let your potential big brother live there."

"Good, I'll let Stephanie know tomorrow." She gives him a kiss then takes her son from his arms.

~Things happen~

"Can you open the door please?" Steffy smiles at Michala through her stress.

"I'm on my way!" Michala goes and opens the door to find Hope and Liam standing on the other side with four cakes with them as well as a bag. Michala puts on her most joyous smile. "Welcome! What's in the bag?"

"We didn't ice the cakes entirely, so we'll be doing that in the kitchen off from the main hall if that's okay?"

"Definitely, you go do that and I'll tell Steffy that you're here!" She watches them start off in the direction of the main hall and then Liam turns around.

"Where is my daughter?"

"She's with Nana and Dada! She'll be here within an hour or two! Ridge and Taylor will be bringing her and Stephanie with them when they get here. Because of the party they've had her since yesterday." Michala watches him nod and then turn back around and follow his wife. When she doesn't see him anymore, she turns around and walks back to the kitchen.

"So, what should I do now?"

"Take the pasta in the big pot and drain it, add it to the yoghurt mixture and then you can tell me who was at the door?"

"Oh, Liam and Hope came with the cakes, they weren't completely done so they went to the small kitchen behind the Hall to get them done." Michala works through her assigned task with silent efficiency while watching Steffy´s stress levels skyrocket. "Hey!" She says a little louder than planned and sees Steffy´s head snap up from the herbs she's cutting up. "What's with all the nerves?"

"I just want this to be the best first birthday ever, but I'm nervous about Katherine and Carter as well."

"Oh, don't worry about that! Katherine and Carter will fall head over heels and Kelleigh won't even remember her first birthday! Trust me, everything will work out the way it's supposed to!" Michala smiles one of her most mysterious smiles.

"Hey, what's that smile about?" Steffy smiles right back.

"Well, I've picked a date for the wedding."

Steffy raises her hand to place it over her mouth as her eyes start watering. "Are you telling me that I need to start on your dress?"

Michala just nods her head. "There's one more thing though."

Steffy looks at her with confusion in her eyes, then Michala changes. There's a glow shining through her every pore.

"No? Seriously?" Michala nods her head. "Have you told Thomas?"

"No, not about either, but he'll find out soon!"

"How far along?"

"According to the ultrasound, about 14 weeks."

"How long have you known?"

"About three days. You know I haven't been feeling 100% these last few weeks and that's apparently the reason why, not the stomach bug I thought it was."

"Oh, I'm so happy right now. Nothing can make me sad right now!" Steffy walks over with tears in her eyes and gives Michala a big hug. "When did you decide to have the wedding though?"

"January 23rd. The day of my parent's anniversary."

"But you'll be heavily pregnant by then?"

"Yeah, but I want to be married when the baby comes and it's a few weeks left to the due date. It's the perfect time to get married."

"So, I've got five months to make your dress and you need bump room?"

"Yes, and I do!"

"Oh, mom and dad are going to be so happy!"

"They are! Both the wedding and the baby."

Wyatt comes skipping through the doorway at the end of Michala´s statement. "What baby?"

Michala turns around and points to her belly. "Really?"

"Yes, but she hasn't told Thomas yet so you need to keep quiet!"

Wyatt zips his lips together and then goes to pick Michala up and spin her around. " _Congratulations!_ " He puts her back on the ground, places his hands on her cheeks and then gives her a big kiss on the lips.

"Hey! Get your hands off that girl!" Jessica says from the doorway. "Don't forget you're not single and neither is she!"

Wyatt turns around to look at his girlfriend with a big smile on his lips. "Well, I can't tell you why I kissed her, but believe me, I have no romantic interest in Michala what so ever!"

Jessica walks over to her boyfriend and glides into his arms. "Yeah, I know." She tilts her head up and he gives her a kiss.

"Hey Michala!"

"Yeah?"

" _You better turn that glow off or people might put the puzzle together."_ Steffy whispers into Michala´s ear and then watches her friend de-glow herself.

"Oh my God!" Both girls turn towards Jessica and Wyatt. "You're pregnant!"

Michala nods her head. "That's why you couldn't tell me why you kissed her!"

Thomas really couldn't have picked a worse time to walk through the door. "Who kissed who?"

"Wyatt just kissed your girlfriend!" Jessica says with such a serious look on her face that Steffy starts having trouble containing her laugh.

"I'm sorry, what?"

"My boyfriend just placed a big kiss on your girlfriend's lips in front of your sister and I walked in on them!" Jessica still has that look on her face.

"Okay. Good to know!" Thomas then turns her attention towards his sister. "How are things going in here?"

"Oh man!" Jessica complaints looking up at her boyfriend. "Not even a little bit of jealousy?"

"It's going good!" Steffy smiles at her big brother. "We're almost done! One more pot of pasta to cook and then we're golden! The salads just need to blend together in the fridge for a bit."

"Good! Has Hope and Liam arrived yet?"

"Yeah! They came about fifty minutes ago? Liam is dealing with Kelleigh-withdrawal so don't stand in his way when she arrives!" Michala warns the people in the kitchen.

The other four adults nod their heads.

"Michala..." Steffy gains her friends attention. "..shouldn't you talk to your man about something?"

"You really think this is the time for that?"

"Yes!" Both Wyatt and Jessica injects their approval of the idea.

"Okay then, Thomas!" He turns his attention back towards his girlfriend. "We're getting married on January 23rd and we're having a baby!"

Four of the adults sees Thomas´s eyes go wide and then fall straight backwards. "You said?" Michala chuckles with Steffy at the look on Wyatt and Jessica´s faces.

"Help me carry him to the couch!" Wyatt asks Jessica and Steffy to help him. "So, everything ready for the party?"

"Yes!" Steffy smiles. "Just need to get the Hall totally ready!"

Someone rings the doorbell and when Steffy has opened the door, she sees her father carrying her daughter so she tells him to go to the kitchen of the hall so that Kelleigh´s father can see his daughter. On the way, Ridge notices his son laying on the couch and so he turns around with his eyebrows raised in question. Steffy just chuckles.

"You'll find out soon enough!" Ridge then turns his head towards Wyatt and Jessica.

"Yeah, that's our fault! Kind of, but it is good stuff!" Wyatt saying the first part and Jessica the second.

Michala smiles. "Yeah, it's all good stuff!"

Just as Ridge disappears with Kelleigh, Taylor walks through the door with a few bags and Kelleigh´s overnight bag. She looks around and sees her son laying on the couch. She focuses on Michala.

"So, you told him, did you?" Causing jaws to drop all over the place and Taylor to chuckle. "You really thought I didn't know about the baby?" She winks at her son's girlfriend.

"But I didn't even know until three days ago."

"Oh, don't worry, it's been all over you so just let the glow out will you!" The smile that emerges on Taylor´s lips as Michala lets her glow out rivals Michala´s glow completely.

"Where's grandma?" A worried Steffy looks around.

"Bridget and Derek are picking her up, they had something they needed to talk to her about so they thought to catch two flies with one crack of the whip?"

~Things happen~

Bridget, Derek and Logan are driving up the street towards the Forrester Mansion and as they pass the gate to Steffy, Thomas, Michala and Wyatt´s house, Logan starts looking sad and Bridget notices.

"Hey!" Logan looks up at his mother through the rearview mirror. "What's wrong?"

"Well, you said that we were going to Kelleigh´s house for her party, but we just passed their house!"

"Oh, honey, we are going to Kelleigh´s birthday party, we've just got to go get grandma Stephanie first!" At this announcement, Logan´s face lights up once again.

"Awesome!" And so, he goes back to the car he had rolling on the seat.

They reach the gate to the Forrester Mansion and after the gate opens, they drive up the driveway to find Stephanie already out on the deck waiting for them. Bridget turns towards Derek.

"Well, here's your chance!" She had an inkling of what he wanted to talk to Stephanie about. He opens the door and walks over to the older woman and has her sit down on one of the chairs that sits on the deck.

"What's he doing?" Logan looks out the window at the man he considers a bonus father.

"My guess is that he's asking Stephanie a very important question." Logan just nods at his mother's reply. Then Logan starts making car noises again.

After Stephanie and Derek give each other a hug, they walk over to the car and Derek opens the door for Stephanie.

"Hi grandma!" Logan smiles up at his grandmother, but the greeting sends Stephanie´s eyes searching for Bridget´s eyes.

Bridget just smiles and says her hello to her stepmother and Stephanie turns her attention back to the little boy beside her. "So, are you ready to celebrate your cousin?"

"But grandma, Kelleigh is not my cousin."

"What do you mean? Of couse she is?"

"No, Kelleigh´s mother is momma´s niece, so Kelleigh can't be my cousin."

"So, what do you think Kelleigh is to you?" Stephanie is getting more confused by the minute.

"Well, I don't know. But I love her like a sister. She's like the sister I don't have!"

"Oh, so Kelleigh is like your pretend sister then?"

"Yeah, kind of. But more like real sister." Logan trails off and focuses his eyes outside of the car.

A couple of minutes later, they turn up on the driveway to the S/F-J-house and sees that the residents has decorated with a few balloons on the entry way. Derek parks the car and then gets out to help Stephanie out of it.

"Thank you!" Stephanie smiles at the man in front of her, she hears Bridget open the door on her side of the car and then she feels someone stroke her back so she spins around and sees Logan smiling up at her indicating that he wants to come out of the car. So, she laughs at him and then takes another step forward to let him out, only to see him run towards the door. With a smile on her face, she turns towards Bridget. "You'd better not let this one go! Such a well-mannered boy!"

"I don't intend to!" Bridget sends a mysterious smile Derek´s way as she's talking. "Should we join my son?"

Both Stephanie and Derek agree and so they turn around to see Logan knocking on the door jumping up and down in excitement.

~Things happen~

Jack, Nick, Owen and Jackie arrive at their destination at the same time as Bill, Katie, Will, Eric and Maribeth.

"Well, look at you! Looking gorgeous Katie!" Nick walks over and gives his former fiancé a hug.

"Thank you! So, should we head inside?" All five of the adults agree.

Bill reaches in to take his oldest son, then hands him off to Nick, then he releases his daughter's car seat and takes it out of the car before handing her over to Jackie´s capable hands. He reaches in and gets the diaper bags that he hands off to Owen, then he walks to the trunk of the car and pulls out a pack n' play and some blankets and other stuff for the babies to have while napping.

Meanwhile, Katie has taken Eric out of the car in his car seat. "So, after dumping all of our stuff and some of our kids in the arms of our friends, are we ready to go in now?"

"Yes! Let´s go celebrate my granddaughter´s birthday!"

The gang then walks over to the door and Jack knocks on it.

On the other side, they can hear a little boy ask if he can open the door and a woman telling him yes.

"Logan´s here!" Jack exclaims with excitement.

"Well, it does sound like it doesn't it?" Nick smiles while looking at his son.

The door opens and on the other side, Logan stands and then his jaw drops when he sees who's on the other side. "Jack!" He runs out and gives his step-nephew a hug. Then both boys run into the house again and disappear.

As the rest of them are about to walk into the house, another car is coming and in it are a few people that haven't been in LA in a very long time.

Marcus, Dayzee and Carter exits the car and then Dayzee opens the door where her stepdaughter is currently shielded. She picks her up and Rosie puts her head on Dayzee´s shoulder and continues sleeping.

"Welcome back to LA!" Katie says to her nephew and his daughter, wife and brother.

"Thank you! It's a good time to come back!"

"It sure is! Let's go inside!"

As they walk inside, Steffy catches on that Rosie is still sleeping and gently pulls Dayzee with her to the office where there's also a daybed and Dayzee lays Rosie down on it, Steffy then grabs a lighter blanket and drapes it on the little girl, knowing that she probably won't need it, but that it could get a little cold in the office if the sun retreated behind the clouds.

When they come back out, someone has rung the doorbell and Carter has decided to open it. Just like Steffy thought, the expression on both Carter and Katherine´s faces tell her everything she needs to know.

She does a little victory gesture and then she places the cool calm collected face again.

"Hey! Who's that?" Dayzee asks having seen both the gesture and the look on both her brother in law´s and the woman on the other side of the doors faces.

"That's Katherine, Bill and Katie´s surrogate."

"What's with the victory gesture?"

"Oh, it's nothing. I just had a hunch and I was right!" Steffy turns her head towards Dayzee and then smiles.

"Well, when aren't you?"

"There's been a time or two!" Both women laugh. "Hey Bill!"

She gets his attention. "You can put your stuff in the office, just don't make much noise, Rosie is sleeping!"

He nods his head and leaves to put the stuff away.

"Okay, so, we've got almost everything done. I believe there's maybe one flower left to put on a cake or something, so, let's go to the Hall and celebrate my daughter's birthday!" Steffy says with such pride in her voice.

The celebration goes exactly to plan. Everyone is having so much fun just talking, eating and some sleeping a little.

Maribeth and Eric migrates from one set of arms to another. It's getting towards the end when Steffy walks over to Bridget to have a conversation.

"So, a little birdy told me that an important question has been asked. Is it maybe time for a certain dress to be designed?"

"The question has not been asked to me yet, but I would say that it's probably only a matter of time. So, I'd say that yes, it's time."

"I'll have a sketch ready for you by Monday next week!"

"Wait, which birdy?"

"Oh, I'm not telling!" Steffy says with a mysterious smile on her lips, leaving Bridget with questions in her head.

Steffy walks over to her brother. "Hey, I know you two probably don't want to take away from Kelleigh´s birthday celebration, but I think you should tell them now!"

"You sure?" Thomas looks at her worriedly.

"It's okay!"

Thomas looks around for his fiancé and waves her to him, when she gets there, Steffy walks away and Thomas clinks his glass to get the attention of the rest of the people in the room.

"First of all, I'd like to say that I'm thankful for the chance to celebrate my niece´s birthday!" He looks down on Michala. "Secondly, I'd like to invite you all to celebrate with Michala and I as we get married on January 23rd next year and as we welcome our very own little baby a few weeks after that."

A lot of the women in the room take a big breath in as they watch Michala transform right before their eyes.

"Congratulations!" Bill says before clapping his hands together for the two. "On both engagement, wedding and baby!"

"The third thing I'd like to say is that it's time to eat cake!" And this causes pandemonium as Jack, Logan, Will and Rosie come running towards the table where the cakes are. Causing their parents to start laughing.

~Things happen~

 **AN:**

 **Yeah! So many things!**

 **Let me know what you think!**


	16. Chapter 16

**AN:**

 **I don't own a thing!**

Things happen

 **Chapter sixteen**

 _Sunday September 7_ _th_ _2014_

 _S-F/J-house_

Later that evening, Steffy is sitting by the desk in the office working out a design for both Michala and Bridget´s dresses after leaving Wyatt, Thomas and Jessica to finish cleaning the hall.

She had figured out how to handle Michala´s growing belly by having a sweetheart neckline with an empire cut bodice and it would be beautiful.

Bridget´s dress was another matter altogether. She knew who Bridget was and she had seen her get married a few times before so she knew her style. So, Bridget´s dress consisted of a strapless slip dress with a corset built in with a lace overlay with a slight turtle neck and long sleeves. The back would be open and a lace ribbon with buttons would line the center back of it with the buttons following the lace down to the hem. She'd look gorgeous.

Steffy had plans to bring them to work tomorrow and show her father and then bring it to the design department and talk to Caroline about it.

~Things happen~

 _Monday September 8_ _th_ _2014_

 _Ridge Forrester´s office._

There's a knock on his door and so he calls out for the person on the other side to come in. What he sees makes him smile.

Steffy walks through the door with what looks like a design sheet in her hands.

"So, what can I help you with today?"

"Well, I promised Michala that I would design her wedding dress for her and I'd like your input into this." She hands over the sheet with Michala´s dress on it.

"Oh my, that's beautiful honey! She'll look gorgeous in it! Are you sure you're in the right department at this company?" Ridge raises his eyebrows at the question.

"Yeah, I'm one hundred percent sure I'm in the right department." Steffy´s eyes sparkle at the praise her father has just given her.

"So, why do you have one more design sheet?"

"Well, a little birdy whispered that an important question is about to be asked, so I designed one more dress. Who do you think this dress will fit the best?"

She hands the design sheet over.

Ridge looks it over and then he sees an imaginary blonde tassel of hair flowing down from behind the bride's ear. "It's for Bridget isn't it?"

"Yeah, do you think she'll like it?"

"Oh, she'll love it."

"Good!" Steffy smiles. "I'm going to go talk to Caroline now. Do you have anything you need to talk to her about? I could send her back here if you do?"

"I do have something I need to talk to her about, but that can wait a little longer."

"I'll let her know you need to talk to her about something and she'll come here when she has the time then?"

"Sounds good to me!" She collects the design sheets and then leaves the office.

She walks across the entire building and finds Caroline sitting by her desk and the whole design team hard at work. She pulls the design sheets apart and then places them over the papers Caroline is reading.

"What's this?" Then she raises her head to look at who ever disturbed her. "Oh, Steffy, hi!"

"Hi Caroline! So, first, before I forget, dad had something he needed to talk to you about, but it could wait until you have the time to see him. Second of all, do you think that these can be made before the end of the year?"

"Sure, who are they for?"

"My future sister in law and your future sister in law."

"But I don't have any brothers who are getting married?"

"No, you don't." Steffy just looks as the lightbulb turns on over Caroline´s head.

"Are you serious?" Joy starts spreading over Caroline´s face. "Bridget is getting married?"

"Well, an important question has been asked, but **the** question has not been asked yet." Steffy grabs a chair and sits down.

"Oh!"

"Yeah, Derek told me yesterday that he had asked grandma if she would accept him as Bridget´s husband and grandma of course said yes. Bridget apparently has a hunch that it's coming, so when I asked her if I should get started on the dress, she said yes, so here we are."

"I'm so happy!"

"Me too! It's about time some happiness came her way."

"What about you then?"

"Oh, my happiness is just around the corner."

"Which corner might that be?"

"I haven't found that out yet, but it's coming. I can feel it!"

Nathan comes walking through the door just as Steffy stops talking. "Hey Caroline?"

"Yeah? What's up Nathan?"

"Is it okay if I take the week off? There's some things in the family that needs sorting out and apparently they can't do it without me there."

"I don't see a problem with that, I mean, you're already way ahead with everything. Two seasons a head, so you just take the week and we'll see you next week!"

"Thank you!" He walks over to shake her hand and leans over the desk to do so. "Oh, Hi Ms. Forrester! Did you have a nice party for your daughter?"

"It was the best celebration for a one year old I've ever been to!" Caroline says.

"Yeah, it was awesome! And turns out my brother has gotten engaged and they're expecting a baby!"

"Well, tell him I said congratulations on all of them!" Nathan smiles at her. "Well, have a nice week and good bye!"

"I hope it all works out!"

"I'm pretty sure it will!"

" _What about him?_ " Caroline whispers.

"Well, he certainly looks like my type, doesn't he?"

"Sure does!"

"Well, if it happens, it happens. I'm not going to rush it."

"Sounds like a plan!"

~Things happen~

On the other side of the design studio, David and Jacob are hard at work, but listening to the girl's conversation anyway.

" _Hey! Do you think they know we can hear them?_ " Jacob asks curiously.

"Of course, they know, they can hear us talking right now." David says with a laugh and the look on Jacobs face makes him laugh even harder.

Jacob looks back at the boss and the head of PR. He looks absolutely terrified when he sees that they're looking at him with big smiles on their faces.

David puts down what he was working on and walks over to Caroline´s desk. "So, you just made me curious, what needs to be done before the end of the year?"

Caroline picks up the design sheets and hands them over. David´s jaw drops. "I'm sorry, but what are we doing here if the PR-department can do this?"

Curiosity lights up in Jacob´s eyes as well and he walks over.

"Because, I only design wedding gowns for family and PR is the love of my work life."

Both men just look at her like she's grown a second head or something and Steffy just smiles. "Trust me, PR is the only department I want to work in and you are good at what you do and that's why you're here and I'm where I am!"

Jacob just nods in wonder. "When I get married, well, if I do, would you design my fiancé´s dress?"

"I can't make any promises! We'll see!" Steffy sends him a smile. "Anyway, would you like to go to lunch with me?"

She directs the question at Caroline.

"Yeah, I'll just go talk to your father first. I'll send a text when I'm ready!"

"See you later!"

Steffy leaves Caroline to her papers and Jacob and David to their design sheets.

"Designing really is in their blood!" Jacob says as they reach their stations.

"Well, she is part of a line of Design royalty!" David picks up a pen. "She'd have to have some sort of design skill in her."

The two shares one last look and then they go back to what they were doing.

~Things happen~

About an hour later, Caroline and Steffy meet up at the reception desk of a restaurant they hadn't eaten at before. They had decided to take separate cars so that Caroline could go home after lunch after having decided to take the afternoon off since she had worked through her paper load that morning. Steffy on the other hand weren't quite done yet so she'd be going back to work.

They get seated and then look over the menu.

"So, what did dad want to talk to you about?" Steffy has decided on what she wanted so she placed the menu on the table to indicate to their server that they were about ready to order.

"Oh, he just wanted an update on how the newbies were doing. I'm thinking he's going to be handing out the new contracts soon. The four we kept are doing wonderfully."

"Yeah! I've seen some of David and Jacob´s work and they are wonderful designers. Miss Lee also does wonderful work now that we've fixed the issue she had. Nathan was amazing from the start and he's already got his contract."

"Yeah, Ridge is going to start working on those contracts and then call the other three in one by one."

"He should probably talk to Sally first, I think it might be a little cruel to meet with her last considering she thought she might get fired last month. I don't know, I just feel like there's something about her that feels familiar. Maybe next time we should bring her to lunch. Get to know her a little more."

"Yeah, you feel that too?"

"I do, I don't know what it is, but it just feels like she's like an old friend you bump into twenty years later after just drifting apart."

"Yeah, anyway. So, it's been a year now. Do you think you're ready to love again?"

"Oh, I've been ready since before Kelleigh was born, I've just chosen to focus on my daughter and my work. But now that Liam and Hope has taken over some of the responsibilities for Kelleigh, I've got the time to date now if that's what I'm going to do. How are you and Rick doing?"

"We're good where we are, why do you ask?"

"Oh, no reason, you asked about me so I asked about you." Steffy just shrugs.

"Of course, I'd like for there to be a bigger commitment between us than just our cat, but I don't want to rush things either. I've seen people in our family move way to fast and not have a positive outcome because of it, so we'll let it take the time it needs."

"Yeah, I get that, which is why I don't want to rush into the dating pool just because it's been a year since I had my baby and people think I should've gotten over Liam by now."

"Well, are you? Over Liam I mean."

"Liam will always have a piece of my heart because he's the father of my daughter, but I got over Liam as a romantic interest long before I saw that magazine cover announcing his engagement to Hope. I knew the moment I saw the two of them rolling around on mine and Liam´s bed that it would probably be a good idea to work on getting over him because he has never fought for us more than I have before. I had this idea that he'd come visit me in Paris at one point or another, but I knew it would never happen. I'd never demand that he'd spend time with me, he should spend time with me because he wants to. Had I'd come back from Paris there would've been a fight for his heart between me and Hope and I just couldn't do that again. So, I stayed in Paris and here we are. I have my baby girl and I'm happy, he's married to Hope and they seem perfectly happy together and Hope and I have moved forward into a friendship and co-parents to my daughter. It never would've happened if Brooke hadn't left when she did."

"Yeah, looking back she created a bunch of drama where there didn't need to be any."

"So, what are you doing when you get home?"

"Oh, I'm thinking a glass of wine, a book and the big armchair in the living room."

"Add a bowl of popcorn and I might just join you!" Steffy smiles.

"Nah, I'm gonna stick to the wine and book!"

At this point Caroline has also laid her menu down and their waitress walks over to take their order and drinks. Within five minutes their food arrives and they spend the rest of lunch eating and talking.

~Things happen~

 _One week later_

 _Sally´s apartment._

She loved sitting on her balcony watching the sun rise in the morning and then set at night. At the moment she was talking to her mother over the phone while having breakfast. She'd need to leave for work in less than ten minutes to make sure she wasn't going to be late.

Rumors had been floating around the design studio that some of the new designers would be getting their 'Until further notice'-contracts soon and she was starting to get a little nervous. Hence the phone call to her mother.

"Hey mom! I need to let you go because I'm about to leave for work in less than ten minutes!"

" _Oh, yeah, you do that! Just remember that all of us are so proud of you no matter what happens. Just like Aunt Sally and grandma Shirley are!_ " Alexia Spectra´s pride over her daughter´s new place of work was heard through the phone.

"I'll try to! They almost let me go over a month ago!" Self-doubt spreads through the phone from daughter to mother.

" _Oh honey, look at what they did to keep you! Any other work place would've just thrown you out, not given you a second chance to show them how good you are!_ "

"Yeah, I know, but it hasn't even been the full year yet, what am I supposed to think about that?"

" _Maybe they think you're too good to let go? Or, you're just not what they're looking for so they're letting you go. I don't know, but let's see things from the bright side okay?_ "

"That is true! I'm going to head out now! I love you!"

" _I love you too honey and good luck! Fingers crossed over here!_ "

Five minutes later she's out the door and about forty-five minutes after that, she pulls into the parking lot of Forrester Creations. She turns her car off and starts getting out and just as her right foot hits the ground, she receives a text.

 **From Ridge Forrester, CEO of Forrester Creations:**

"Hello Sally!

If you have the time I'd like to speak to you about something as soon as possible.

Come see me when you can!"

Her heart starts beating really fast and she's totally stuck where she is.

A car comes driving slowly through the parking lot and parks a few spaces down. Steffy Forrester gets out of the car and then takes her purse and walks to the other side of the car to take her daughter out of the car seat. The two then starts walking towards the entrance. Kelleigh then looks over at Sally and starts toddling towards her.

"Hey, Kelleigh, where are you going?" Then she looks in the direction where her daughter was walking in. "Oh, hi Sally! How are you doing?"

Steffy stands right next to her having caught up to her daughter and picked her up. When Sally doesn't answer her, Steffy puts her hand up and waves it in front of Sally´s face. Sally slowly comes out of her daze and then she rapidly shuts and opens her eyes a few times. She looks around and then sees that Steffy and her daughter is standing next to her.

Sally reaches out to Kelleigh and the one year old breaks out into a big smile. "How did you get here?"

"Car." Kelleigh says before pointing to Steffy´s car.

"Oh!" Sally shakes her head and then turns her attention to Steffy.

"Are you okay?" Steffy asks with concern.

"I think so, not entirely sure. Your father sent a message that he wanted to see me as soon as I had the time. Is it drop off day today?"

"Sure is! Liam is actually coming to pick her up today as Hope is at home with an upset stomach. She'll be fine. Maybe you should go talk to dad then? Best to just get things done and over with don't you think?"

"Yeah, that might be best. Let's just get it over with." Sally starts walking towards the building while Steffy puts her daughter back on the ground, takes her hand and starts walking.

Steffy isn't paying much attention so when she gets to the entrance, she walks right into Sally.

"Lost your drive, did you?" Steffy chuckles a little as she watches Sally nod her head. "Just go talk to him! What's the worst that can happen? But before you answer that, what's the best that can happen?"

Steffy watch Sally´s eyes change as she's thinking about Steffy´s questions. Then Sally starts walking again.

"Looks like we need to hurry up so that we can take the same elevator!" Steffy points out to her daughter.

"Elltor!"

"Exactly! Let's go!" The mother-daughter duo barely makes it to the elevator as the doors closes. But thankfully, Sally sees them and holds it for them.

"Thank you!"

Sally gets off the elevator on the floor before Steffy and Kelleigh is to depart. "So, are you ready for Daddy-time?"

Sally hears Kelleigh giggle as a response to Steffy´s question before the doors close.

Sally makes it all the way to the door to Ridge Forrester´s office. It takes about five minutes before she works up the courage to knock on it. She hears him ask her to come in and then she sees the brightness in his eyes as she walks through the door when he sees that it's her walking through it.

"Oh! I see you got my text message?" Sally just nods her head. "Here, come have a seat!"

Thirty minutes later, she walks through the doors into the design studio with a baffled expression on her face. Caroline doesn't react much because she knows what the meeting was all about.

Nathan, Jacob and David on the other hand has no idea.

"Hey! What's going on?" Jacob says with concern in his voice.

Sally just looks at him and then walks over to her station and sits down on her stool. Then a big smile appears on her face. "I am now a full-time designer for Forrester Creations until further notice."

All three men says congratulations and some say "I told you so!"

Sally just smiles.

~Things happen~

 _September 15_ _th_

 _Forrester Mansion´s guest house._

The letter came in the mail that afternoon and right now, Stephanie Forrester was waiting for her son, her daughter in law and her potential step daughter and her husband to come by.

She hears a car come to a stop outside and walks to the door so she can open it. When the door is fully open, she sees Katie take her oldest out of the car and send him her way. Will walks with confident steps over to Stephanie and waits there for his parents and younger siblings.

Having heard the car, Taylor and Ridge come out through their door as well and goes to help Bill with the load that comes with having twins, having been there themselves.

All four adults by the car look over at Stephanie and they see the emotions running all over her face.

"This is going to take so much emotional support that I'm not sure I'm the only one who should be here to support you all!" Taylor´s voice shakes as she's talking.

"It's okay! I'm here for them as well!" Bill says with a smile as he brings Taylor into a one-armed hug.

Stephanie and Will patiently wait for the rest of their group to join them.

The rest walk over to them and then they walk inside. The first thing that all of them see is the big envelope that would let them know if the Forrester siblings would increase by one or not.

~Things happen~

Katherine Dawson was getting ready for her first date with a wonderfully handsome man. It was quite strange actually, she had been involved with the Spencer family with a little Forrester on the side for a little under a year now and still, the first time she met him was a week or so ago at Kelleigh´s birthday party.

The first time she laid eyes on him she knew, that was the man she'd spend the rest of her life with. There was just that one big question.

Was this a man she would consider having children with even though she had decided she didn't want any children of her own? She knew he wanted to have children and that he was good with them. She'd seen it with Kelleigh, Rosie, Maribeth, Eric, Jack, Logan and she could see the longing in his eyes.

Would she want to deny this man his own children if they were to start a relationship or could her decision to not have any children of her own be taken under a microscope and looked at again. That's what this date was about for her, to see if this man would be the one to help her change her mind.

At the moment, she was running her hair through a straightener because the curly mess that's her hair when just recently washed did not look like a first date look. She wasn't removing them completely, just taming them down a bit.

The outfit was lying on the bed, a floral summer dress, a white cardigan in case it got cold, white strappy flats and a belt to hold the outfit together. She had been told to wear something casual and that they'd be walking a lot, so heels had been out of the question.

When she looked at the clock the next time, she saw that she only had five more minutes before he would get there, so she puts on some mascara and a light coat of lipgloss with a yummy lemon/strawberry scent and then she goes and puts on the clothes. Little does she know that the man in question has been standing outside her door for the last fifteen minutes.

~Things happen~

 _Outside of Katherine Dawson´s apartment._

Carter Walton had been nervous the whole day, he didn't really understand why, but after a quick talk with Caroline Spencer, he figured that if he and Katherine are true love, a compromise could be reached.

He rings the doorbell at exactly 6:30 PM and waits for exactly fifteen seconds before Katherine opens the door and his breath gets caught in his throat.

He brings her into a hug and is gob smacked when she speaks.

"I changed my mind." He backs off and let's go of her.

"What? Why? You don't want to go on a date with me?" She can see the hurt in his eyes.

She just chuckles.

"No, I do want to go on a date with you, many of them in fact, but I also want to marry you and have your children and I want to live happily with you in a big yellow house with a big porch, a white picket fence, our 2,3 kids, a golden retriever, four cats and a rabbit."

His jaw drops.

"Seriously?"

"Yes! You are everything I want and I want everything that comes with having you in my life!" She smiles. "There's just one thing though! I promised Bill and Katie that I would help them if they wanted more kids in the future."

"Oh, I can live with that, but do you really think they'd want more when they've just had twins?"

"You never know." She walks over and places her hands on his cheeks. "But they currently have five children and a grandchild, I doubt they'd want more now. I'm going to have to talk to them about that."

"I want to try something!" He smirks.

"What?"

"This!" He says before walking up to her and then kissing her senseless before letting her go.

"Yeah, I'm gonna go into the living room and sit down for a little bit." She says and stumbles over to the armchair that's closest to the door. He follows her and bends down.

"What made you change your mind?"

"The future I saw in front of me when you hugged me just now. I realized that I do want that life, I just had to find the right guy to have it with and you are that guy! Hopefully we'll work out!"

"Oh, I have no doubt! Actually, I came here with the intention to ask if you'd consider fostering to adopt as an option to having kids of our own if we were to get that far." He takes her hands in his and look her in the eyes.

"Oh,..." She starts crying. "..one biological child and then foster to adopt?"

"Most definitely!" He gives her a big smile and it only increases when she smiles back at him!

"I was going to wait until after the date to tell you, but I just couldn't hold it in."

"Well, I'm glad you told me!" He picks her hand up in his and kisses the top of it. "It's going to make this date even better!"

"Do you think we could just stay here and watch some movies? There's just been way to much emotional moments right now."

"Let's just watch a movie and then go take a stroll on the beach after?" He leans in for a hug. "Combining both ideas?"

"That would be nice!"

So, she takes her shoes off, asks him to do the same and then tells him to pick a movie while she goes to get a blanket and fix them some popcorn.

~Things happen~

 _September 17_ _th_

 _S-F-J-house_

Michala was having a really bad week, now that she had entered her 16th week of pregnancy, she had been so sure that the morning sickness would've vanished, but, it hadn't, she had talked to Steffy that morning and she had gotten the okay to stay at home for the rest of the week. At the moment she was lying in bed, reading a book and head phones on her belly to play music for the baby.

She had seen the design for her wedding dress and she was totally in love with it. Steffy had read her like a book because if you would only remove the added fabric for the belly, it would be the exact dress that Michala had wanted to get married in since she was a little girl. She was so proud over her best friends' knowledge of who she is.

Suddenly, she feels a flutter in her belly that she's never felt before and the wonder that fills her whole entire body is overwhelming. Then she starts laughing. She checks the playlist on her iPOD and sees a song there that she didn't put there herself.

"You really are your daddy´s child aren't you? Really, Beethoven, Bach and Chopin don't do anything, but Metallica sets your muscles in motion? Are you headbanging in there?" She smiles while caressing her belly.

She decides to test the theory and looks up songs with Iron Maiden, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest and Bon Jovi and the baby has the same reaction to all of the songs she plays. "Yeah, a little Rock and Metal baby you are!"

When the clock closes in on the time when Steffy usually comes home, Michala packs up her phone, iPad, the head phones and the books she was reading.

She comes down stairs just as both Steffy and Wyatt walks through the door.

"Hey you!" She slowly walks down the stairs. "Guess what happened today!"

"I have no idea?"

"Well, let's go to the living room and you can find out!"

She goes and sets everything up and then puts Steffy´s hand on one side of her belly and Wyatt´s on the other side, then she puts the music on and baby starts flipping about and stretching.

"Yeah, that's their father´s baby!" Steffy looks up at Michala with pride in her eyes. "So, how does it feel to finally feel your baby moving?"

Wyatt is so focused on feeling the baby moving that he doesn't even notice that Steffy and Michala are talking.

Half an hour later, Thomas walks through the door. "Hello!"

"In here!" Steffy tells him.

"Why do you have your hand on my fiancé´s belly?"

"Well, come on over!"

Steffy takes her hand off Michala´s belly and Thomas sit down. Michala finds the song that started it all and Thomas eyes grow huge.

"I got a little surprise today!"

"I can feel that! What made that happen?"

Michala takes the head phones off her belly and baby instantly calms down and then puts them on Thomas head. Thomas´s eyes grow even bigger. "That happened because you played Master of puppets for our baby?"

"Well, I didn't, you did, because I did not put that song on my iPod. Anyway, I tried with it Iron Maiden´s Run to the hills, Black Sabbath´s Paranoid, Judas Priest´s Breaking the law and Bon Jovi´s Wanted dead or alive. Baby is working out to every genre of rock and metal music there is. This is their father´s baby! The music I chose doesn't interest the baby at all!"

Thomas laughs. "Well, I told you that children need a rhythm to work out to!"

"Yeah, but those rhythms? Seriously?" Michala chuckles in disbelief. "I really don't think I can handle raising a kid that listens to that kind of music! I just can't!"

The shock evident on Thomas´s face cracks her facade. "Oh, don't worry! I'm gonna love this baby so much and force it to listen to every kind of music that I like to listen to just like I know I'll be listening to that kind of music once the kid starts making its mind heard!"

"I promise we'll sound proof baby´s bedroom once it gets here!"

"Thank you! That would be nice!" She places a kiss on his lips before taking the headphones back and placing them back on her belly. "So, what's for dinner?"

"Jessica is coming over in a bit and she said she was bringing pizza!"

"Might as well take advantage of being baby-free for the week!" Steffy´s eyes sparkle and Wyatt just chuckle.

"That was Jessica´s plan I believe. Too much healthy stuff is going to make you bored in the end!"

"How long is a bit? Because I'm hungry!" Michala looks over at Wyatt.

"Should be an hour or two. Would a banana or orange satisfy your hunger until she gets here?"

"Yes please! Whichever one!"

Wyatt walks off into the kitchen and comes back with a banana and an already peeled orange, drawing from his knowledge from when Steffy was pregnant that a pregnant woman who says either or, always wants both, but if she only wanted the banana or the orange, there was at least one of them that would eat the other fruit. He holds them in front of her and as she takes the orange, he places the banana on the coffee table.

When Jessica comes through the door with four boxes of pizzas about an hour later, the banana is predictably gone, but Michala didn't eat it, her fiancé did.

~Things happen~

 _The cliff house_

Hope Spencer looks around the room after the moving truck has packed up all their boxes and the furniture they bought for the place themselves, leaving the kitchen table, the chairs, the couch and armchairs, they were taking the bed that stood in the master bedroom, but they had replaced it with a new one after getting the call that Thorne was moving back to the states and would be living in the cliff house. The reason why he'd be living there was a mystery at the moment.

Liam comes walking through the door to the bedroom carrying his daughter with him. "So, are you ready?"

"I am, it's been a good run in this house, I've learned a lot about myself and about us as a couple here." She sighs. "I've grown up here."

"Yeah, it's been a wonderful house to live in. But now we get the chance to fill our new house with our furniture and decorate the way we want it to look."

"Do you think Thomas would want to paint a mural for Kelleigh in her new room?"

"I believe Steffy has already talked to him about that and he's thinking up concepts as we speak. I might have hinted at what the colors will be in Kelleigh´s room."

Hope chuckles. "Your daddy really is something else isn't he, baby girl?"

Kelleigh nods her head and mm's in response.

"Let's go to the new house then."

They look the door, put Kelleigh in her car seat and then drive the short distance to the new house, sit in the car for a few minutes to admire their very own house and then get to business.

The movers were already there and had started to put everything in the room it was supposed to be, they had told them to pack the nursery last into the truck and within five minutes of them arriving, the nursery was done and Kelleigh could spend some time in her crib with some toys while her father and Hope helped the movers get all their stuff into the house.

When Hope goes to look at her stepdaughter just as the movers are finished, Kelleigh has fallen asleep with stuffed monkey as her companion.

~Things happen~

 _September 19_ _th_ _2014_

Donna Logan had been feeling lost since Eric Forrester had died. She wasn't entirely sure why, but the aching in her heart had caused her to push her own family away, and right now she was feeling lonelier then she'd ever been.

She had found an apartment on the outskirts of Los Angeles and she was happy with how it looked, she had also found herself a job, as secretary for a law firm and she was thriving, but she still felt lost, she hadn't talked to anyone in her family in over six months. So, she took control over herself and picked the phone up and called her youngest sister.

She walked over to an armchair and sat herself down and pulled her feet up next to her as she waited for Katie to answer the phone.

Unfortunately, the ringtone changed and disappointment flooded eyes and tears started falling. However, five minutes later, her phone started ringing and looking at her phone, she saw that it was Katie calling.

"Hello!"

"Hi! I'm sorry I couldn't answer before, but we were in the middle of putting the twins to bed for their afternoon nap."

"Oh! I didn't think of that when I called." Donna starts feeling ashamed of herself for assuming that Katie didn't want to talk to her.

"Well, you couldn't know. We haven't talked much in the last six months other then you blaming me for Brooke leaving LA. But hey, was there anything special you wanted?"

"I just wanted to catch up with my baby sister. How are things? With the kids and Bill and all that?"

"Oh, the twins are doing great, they're growing as they should." Donna can actually hear the smile currently on Katie´s lips as she's talking. "Bill is doing wonderful as their father and Will is growing as he should, he's such a little chatterbox."

"That's great!"

"How are you doing then?"

"I'm doing okay, Eric´s death affected me in a way I didn't think it would, but I'm working on it."

"Yeah, I had a feeling it would. How's work going?"

"Work is great, the firm I'm working at is the perfect place for me."

"That's good! Have you heard that Thorne is coming back to the states?"

"I've heard rumors, but that's all they've been. I've been keeping up with Hope´s Instagram, I wanted to say that I'm sorry for blaming you for Brooke leaving Los Angeles."

"It's okay, I let that go a long time ago!" Donna let's a small smile grace her lips. "So, what are you doing this weekend?"

"Well, I have a book that needs finishing, but I don't have anything else planned."

"Would you like to come to a dinner at our house on Saturday?"

"Sure! That sounds like fun! Who else is coming?"

"Ridge and Taylor, Stephanie, Steffy, Thomas, Michala and Wyatt, Liam and Hope, I think Thorne is coming, Bridget and Derek, Jessica and Katherine are coming as well."

"That's a lot of people!"

"Yeah, Rick and Caroline are coming as well!"

"Oh, okay!" She thinks about it for a few seconds. "Yeah, I'll be there!"

"Good! I'll see you then!"

Donna can tell that Katie is done with the conversation. "I'll see you then!"

~Things happen~

 _September 20_ _th_ _2014_

 _Bill and Katie´s house._

Donna is standing on the other side of the door to her sister's house wondering if it's really such a good idea to rejoin the family at this particular dinner, then the door opens and Taylor almost knocks her over.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Are you okay?"

"I don't know." Taylor can see the tears forming in her eyes.

"Come with me!" Then she grabs Donna´s arm and pulls her with her to her husband's car, places her in the back seat and then walks around the car to the other side and sits down. "So, how are you really?"

"Eric´s death hit me harder than I thought it would and because of that I've pulled away from my family and said some things that I shouldn't have said."

"I agree with you on that, but you really need to come inside right now. Katie and Bill are doing an announcement today and you need to be there to hear it!"

"Why?"

"You'll understand when you hear what they have to say!"

"Why were you coming outside just now?"

"Oh, right!" Taylor looks over the car and finds what she was looking for. "Got it! Let's head inside."

"Okay."

Taylor gets out of the car and starts walking back towards the house, when she notices that Donna isn't following, she turns around and waves for Donna to join her.

Taylor opens the door as Donna joins her. "Look who I found!"

"Aunt Donna!" Hope walks over with Kelleigh in her arms. "I didn't know you were coming!"

"Well, I promised Katie I would." She looks around at all the people present and when her eyes lands on Thorne, her heart constricts and guilt fills her mind.

She walks over to him. "Can I speak to you a little bit?"

Thorne looks around the room and catches his daughter´s eyes and she just nods her head, making him follow Donna.

She stops by the stair case up to the first floor and turns around. She reaches over when he joins her and takes a hold of his hands. "I wanted to apologize for using you the way I did to get back at your mother!"

"Okay, thank you!" Thorne moves to leave, but Donna turns him back towards her.

"Could we maybe start over as friends again? I don't like the fact that we lost our friendship after that."

"Well, what did you think would happen? You know, with you going after my father and all that?"

"Yeah, about that, it was a difficult time for me and I made some choices that weren't the best. I don't regret my relationship with your father though, how it started yes, but not the parts in-between starting and ending. I do regret the reason why our relationship started though, I shouldn't have done that."

"No, you shouldn't have, but it's not me you should be apologizing to." Thorne looks around the room searching for someone. He finds the person and points them out to Donna.

Donna lowers her head after seeing who he meant and then she nods her head.

"Hi everyone!" Katie starts talking. "I wanted to say that I'm happy all of you came to this dinner and I wanted to let you know why you're all here!"

Katie looks over at her husband and he just nods his head and Katie gives a big sigh.

"Okay, so, about ten months before I was born, my mother ran into a man she hadn't seen in over ten years and some things happened. The affair went on for about two months and ended when mom realized she was pregnant with me. The day before Kelleigh´s birthday party, I took a drive with the twins and found myself at Taylor and Ridge´s house."

~Things happen~

 **AN:**

 **Well, we're ending here because I've just gotten to 17 pages and that's too long a chapter for my stories. We'll continue in the next one though!**


	17. Chapter 17

**AN:**

 **I do not own a thing!**

 **I know I promised a 1, 2, 3 and maybe 4-chapter to be posted in the middle of November, unfortunately, that didn't happen, reason is stated in the AN at the bottom of the chapter. I hope you all have/has/had a wonderful holiday season!**

 **Okay, so, I realized when writing this chapter that I need to clarify some things in regards to how this chapter is written.**

 **When words are written in this format:**

 _ **Like this,**_ **they're a hushed/whispered conversation.**

 _Like this_ **, it's through doors.**

 _Like this_ **, it's a thought by a character.**

Things happen

 **Chapter seventeen**

~Things happen~

 _September 20_ _th_ _2014_

 _Katie and Bills house._

Katie looks over to Stephanie for support and she gets it when Stephanie nods.

"When we were sitting in Stephanies living room, she brings something up that kind of shocked all of us. Taylor, Ridge and Kelleigh had joined us at this point. Stephanie shows us a picture of a little boy sleeping in a crib and then she asks me if I would be willing to take a test so that we'd all know if I really was a Logan or not, because some pieces of the puzzle were pointing to me not being a Logan at all and a phone call I had with dad a few days ago only confirmed it. About a week ago, Stephanie called me to say that the test had come back and she wanted us to meet her at her house."

Taylor can see that this is hard for Katie, so she gets up and walks over to her. "Do you want me to continue?"

Katie just nods her head and Taylor turns around to the people gathered in the living room of her former house.

"As it turns out, Rick, Bridget, Thorne, Felicia, Kristen and Ridge have another sibling and she's standing right here next to me. Katie Logan is not a Logan, but a Forrester and Beths affair with Eric is the reason why Stephen eventually left Beth alone with Storm, Brooke, Donna and Katie to raise."

So many people are left with their mouths open.

"I knew it!"

Everyone turns towards Steffy.

"What?" Rick says with surprise in his voice.

"Well, look back at photos from the childhoods of both pack of siblings, where do you see Katie fit in more?"

This question makes everyone think for a minute.

"Oh no!" Everyone turns to Thorne. "I kissed my own sister?"

Ridge, Bill and Taylor starts laughing. "Well, you didn't know so I don't think it's that bad, besides, that's all there was wasn't it?"

"Yeah, nothing more. It just didn't feel right."

"Well, there you go and now you know the reason for it!"

Rick just scratches his head. "So, what you're saying is that my aunt Katie is also my sister Katie?"

"Yes!"

Steffy walks over to Hope and her daughter. "See! We were right when we named Katie great aunt Katie!"

The whole group starts laughing.

"Now, when is this dinner supposed to be served? I'm getting hungry!" Michala says with a serious look on her face.

~Things happen~

 _October 13_ _h_

 _Steffy Forresters office_

She's working her way through a massive stack of papers when there's a knock on her door.

"Come in!" She looks up from the computer and her glasses slides down her nose.

When Rick looks through the door, she chuckles a little. "Hey you!" He says with a massive smile.

Steffy waves him in and he takes a seat across from her. "So, what can I help you with?"

"So, you know how I didn't exactly treat you right during our relationship?" His eyes show the regret he feels.

"I do!"

"So, I probably shouldn't be asking you to do this, but I know you designed Michala and Bridgets dresses." He picks up a box from his pocket and puts it on her desk.

"Yes!"

"Yes what?"

"I'll design her wedding dress, but that's all you need to know. What I do need however is her measurements, but I can get those by taking her on a shopping trip." She can see how his nerves calm down as she explains what she needs.

"Bridget told me the design you had made for her looked gorgeous."

"I figured Caroline would've let you see them already?" He just shakes his head. "Do you want to see them?

He nods his head and Steffy rummages through her 'secrets drawer', finds them and holds them out for him to grab. He looks at them and then raises his gaze at her.

"Caroline said these were good, but I didn't think they'd be this good! I know you're a good designer, but this is gorgeous!"

Pride starts flowing through Steffys body. "I'm extremely proud of them!"

"I think you should be!"

"So, when are you popping the question?"

"I was thinking the day before Christmas Eve?"

"Good choice! There's so many people choosing to propose on Valentine's Day, Christmas or New Years and who wants to share the day of a proposal with that many other people? My last proposal was the worst, I mean, he proposed to me on the eve of his wedding to another woman? Anyway, that's in the past and I have my gorgeous baby girl!"

"Yeah, that was a little over the top, but hey, it all worked out in the end?"

"It did!"

"So, when are you going to find your happily ever after then?"

"I don't know, I'm pretty happy where I am in my life right now so I'm not going to force anything to happen!"

"You've seemed so serene since Kelleigh was born!"

"Yeah, I believe I was meant to be her mother, not Liams wife, but Kelleighs mother!"

Rick just nods his head.

"You really are such a great mother! I've never seen a baby that's that calm at all times and so happy to just entertain herself."

"Well, I had great material to work with. It all came down to learning her signals and sounds as fast as possible. Something to think about when your first with Caroline comes along!"

"Yeah! Well, I'm going to go now and leave you to that stack of papers!"

"I'm guessing you've got something to work on yourself?" Steffy smiles at her ex-fiance.

"I do! Thank you for helping me out!"

"It's my pleasure!"

The rest of the day moves along in a mix of papers, pens, design sheets and chicken sandwiches with iced tea.

When she walks through the door that evening, something delicious smelling comes floating from the kitchen and knowing no one is supposed to be home yet, she goes to investigate.

What she sees doesn't really make sense.

"Who are you?"

"Hi!" The man standing in her kitchen kind of looks like a younger version of Deacon Sharpe, but with almost chocolate colored eyes.. "I'm Eric, I met with your brother earlier today when I met with Derek and Jessica Dawson to discuss building myself a house. Anyway, your brother invited me with him home because I don't currently have somewhere to live."

"Oh, so my brother decided to invite a perfect stranger to live with me and my daughter for I don't know how long without even asking me about it?"

Eric just smiles. "You don't remember me?"

"No, should I?"

"When you first saw me, who did you think I looked like the most?"

"Oh, you are Deacons son?"

The smile on his face multiplies in shine. "I am! And Thomas said that your daughter is currently at her fathers place for the week so it shouldn't be a problem. You can get to know me and then you'll know that I'm not a threat to your daughter in any way!"

"Well, I should've known Thomas wouldn't invite a perfect stranger into the house."

"It's okay, you're just being protective of your daughter's safety!"

"Not just hers." Steffy says under her breath, but Eric hears her. "So, what are you working on there?"

"Well, I thought I should make dinner since I'm invading your space." Eric decides to let go of Steffys statement. If he's meant to find out, he'll find out.

"Has Thomas shown you the house?"

"He has. It's a beautiful house and showed me that Dawson Construction and Architecture is the company to choose!"

Steffy sits down by the island and watch as he makes dinner. "Thank you! I really love this house!"

"I was surprised seeing Thomas working at a company where they do house construction."

"Well, when we first started talking about moving in together again, we first looked at houses, then we noticed that this plot was for sale and as I was describing how I would like the house to look, he drew it and all four of us agreed that designing clothes just wasn't for him and Derek and Jessica were really impressed by him when we first met them!"

"Well, sounds like a really good fit if they were so impressed!"

Steffy just smile with pride in her eyes. "It is! So, have you talked to your father?"

"No, I haven't and I don't think he'd want to talk to me either. I may or may not have disowned him as my father."

"Why would you do that?"

"Well, some things happened and I just had enough."

"What about Amber?"

"Yeah..." He sighs as he stirs the pot of pasta. "..same thing there."

"Well, it must have been something really massive if you're not talking to either of your parents. So, what do you do for a living?"

"I just graduated Law school, so I'm searching for a job, but had money saved away and decided to build the house before having a job."

Steffy nods her head and a plan is forming in her head so she takes out her phone and texts her father and Rick. Receiving a positive response from both, she lifts her gaze to look at the man in front of her.

"So, how would you like to come to work tomorrow and meet our legal department for a job interview?"

"Sure, I mean, it can't hurt?"

"Great! Now, could you tell me where my brother is?"

"He dropped me off here, went and kissed his fiancé and then went back to work, so I don't know where he is right now."

"Oh! Okay! I'll be in the office for a bit because I need to do something that is a secret from everyone!"

"Okay! Have fun! Dinner should be ready in forty minutes or so."

"Good! I'll be back then!"

The two of them smile at each other and then Steffy leaves.

~Things happen~

The next day sees Eric following Steffy on her way to work in his own car. He parks it in the parking lot of visiting guests and meets up with Steffy at the front entrance.

"So, are you ready?" Steffy asks. "Because you look a little nervous! Don't worry, it'll be fine!"

"Yeah, I know, it's just this is my first interview for a job ever. I've only ever gone to school before."

"Oh, trust me. You've got the right connections for this job and we had an opening, plus, both my father and Rick said it would go great."

He doesn't calm all the way down, but a big chunk of the nerves disappears. "Just trust me!"

Then she leads him to their legal department where she introduces him to Carter Walton, their current second in command at Legal and explains the family connection between them. It's a complicated story.

Carter leads him into his office and they start talking. Leaving Steffy behind felt a little uncomfortable, but what Carter said next made him feel at ease.

"Now, Steffy told Ridge that you were just out of Law School?" He sees him nod. "So, you don't really have any former employers?" Eric nods again. "Okay, so, we need to look at your grades and then we'll see which part of Legal you'll fit in best with, after that we'll go see both Ridge and Rick and get to working on that contract."

Erics mouth drops and then he starts stuttering. "I'm... What? I'm.."

"What? You thought we'd set you up with this big interview like we're a big law firm?" Carter just chuckles. "We're a small part of a big fashion empire, we needed some new blood and you're just out of Law School." Carter throws his hands together. "Perfect match. Another reason is that you are actually part of the family in some weird way." Carter scratches his head. "I didn't quite follow Steffys line of thought there."

"Oh, let's just say that your adopted brothers' daughter is my second cousin. Rosie and I are related through Amber."

"Oh, that makes that easier."

Eric just smiles.

"So, hand them over!" Eric looks confused. "Your grades!"

"Oh!" Eric hands them over and then leans back in the chair he's sitting on.

After five minutes, Carter turns to his computer and sends a message to Ridge and Rick to meet them in Ridge's office. "So, are you ready to go?"

Eric just nods.

After walking through the corridors, up and down a few stair cases and then ending up on the other side of the building. Carter knocks on a door.

" _Come in!_ " They hear Ridge calling through it.

Carter just opens it and walks right through it.

Eric on the other hand is frozen in the same spot where Carter left him. Noticing that Eric didn't follow him in through the door, Carter walks back out. "Hey! It's just signing a piece of paper and then you'll have job security until you either mess up royally or decide to leave yourself!"

Eric nods his head and starts walking.

Two walls away and heading for Steffys office to take a short cut, Rick Forrester was a bundle of nerves himself.

He knocks on Steffys door and hears her say come in. He opens the door and when she sees who it is, she forms a small smile.

"It feels strange right? Having the child that you were going to raise on the other side of the door?"

"You have no idea!"

"Does Caroline know?"

He just nods.

"Go ahead!"

So, he walks over and knocks on the door to Ridges office. _**Just go in! Why are you knocking?"**_

" _ **Because I'm in your office and I'm knocking on the wrong door!"**_

" _ **Yeah, like dad wouldn't know it was you anyway? That knock is pretty distinctively yours!"**_

" _ **Seriously?"**_

" _ **Yeah, two fast knocks and then two slow ones?**_

Rick just waves her off, but gets confirmation when Ridge calls out from the other side of the door, almost as if he'd heard their conversation.

" _Come in, Rick! What are you lurking around for?_ "

Steffy chuckles. He opens the door and is frozen in place.

Next to Carter is a man with shoulder length really light brown, almost blond hair with the darkest brown eyes he's ever seen. " _Yeah, Amber really had no idea what she did when she thought she'd have me raise that kid. That's so clearly a Sharpe/Moore-child it's insane!_ "

"Hi!" He says as he walks over to shake the younger man's hand.

"Hi!" Eric gives a small smile to the man that almost raised him.

"So, what do you think? Is this a place where you'd feel happy to work for the rest of your life?" Ridge raises his eyebrows after having looked at the documents that Carter brought with him.

"Yes, sir! I'm probably going to be very happy working here for the rest of my life!"

"Good! Here's a standard contract which says that if you don't meet our standards, we have the right to let you go find another place of business."

"So, I'm kind of on probation?"

"You could call it that yes!"

"That's good!"

"If we find you suitable for the job, you'll be asked to see us again and we'll sign the _Until furter notice_ -contract. It's something we do for every employee, we've just handed out those contracts to three of our new designers. If you want to talk to either of them to find out how we are as an employer, you are free to do so!"

"Oh, I'm sure you're a great employer. I don't think your daughter would've asked you about me coming to see you otherwise."

Ridges face breaks out into a smile. "Yeah, my daughter has this power, I'd say..." He looks around to see Carter and Rick nod their agreement. ".. to see what people we need to hire for the positions we've got open. Which is why we probably should have her at every interview in the future?"

A resounding "Yes!" comes from the other two men there aside from Eric, who just nods.

Ridge just hands over the contract for Eric to sign it.

"So, I heard you're building a house?"

"Yeah, I bought a house and then tore it down because it was a little small and it's not like I really needed anything bigger, but a kitchen and a bedroom/living room combination might be a little small. So, I wanted to build a house with a kitchen, laundry room, living room and a bathroom on the first floor and then have the master suit and two extra bedrooms with an extra bathroom on the second floor, with a garage, office and craft rooms on the ground floor. It might be a little big, but it's better to have it too big from the start then realize that it's too small in the end!"

"Sounds like a plan!"

"Yeah! Your son helped out a great deal while Derek and I were talking about it. It's gonna be awesome!"

Ridge smiles with pride at the praise of his son. "We lost a great designer when he left, but seeing how the house he lives in now ended up looking, I totally understand that clothes just weren't his thing!"

"He'll do wonderful where he is right now! Besides, I hear the four designers you hired this spring have been doing a wonderful job!"

"They have, we're actually a few seasons ahead!"

"Well, should we get back to work then?" Carter asks.

"We just need Eric to sign the contract!" Ridge says as he chuckles.

"Oh, right!" Eric gladly takes the pen that Ridge holds out for him and then signs the contract.

"Welcome on board!" Ridge, Rick and Carter shakes Erics hand.

Carter and Eric then leave to tackle today's business.

Rick is on his way to leave when Ridge stops him. "So, how are you feeling about all this?"

"It's weird, but I'll get over it. In a few months these feelings won't be there anymore!"

"As long as you are comfortable!"

"Yeah, it's not as if I'll have that much to do with him anyway so I'll get the chance to work on my feelings before it comes to that." Rick runs his hand through his hair. "Besides, he'll be a great fit with the team and Steffy is the one who recommended him. She's always right!"

"Well, she missed the mark with Carol, didn't she?" Ridge is confused.

"Remember what she said? Carol wouldn't blend well with Caroline and we just ran straight over her because we 'knew better' then her. Look what happened!"

Ridge thinks back and then remembers the look on Steffys face when he decided that Carol would be part of the team. "Yeah, her instincts have never failed her before!"

"Well, I can think of a few times they have. Myself for instance."

"Yeah, about that. Let me see!"

"See what?"

"Oh please, I heard you through the wall yesterday. Don't worry though, Caroline had been in the design studio the whole day!"

"Oh!" Rick realizes what he means. "I don't have it with me today, but if you could give all the girls a few days off in the next few weeks that would be lovely! I'm thinking shopping for baby stuff, bridal shower for Michala and a baby shower as well? Preferably before December 23rd."

Ridge just laughs. "It's still only the first half of October."

"Yeah, I know, but it's a lot to be done!"

"That's true. I'll plan in a few days off in the middle of November and they can have some fun then?"

Rick just nods his head as confirmation. "Maybe Steffy should be in on this?"

"Bring her in!"

Rick goes to knock on the door between Ridge and Steffys offices and is surprised when Steffy walks through the door. He looks over at Ridge. "It's like she has a sixth sense sometimes!"

Steffy just looks confused. "What do you mean?"

"I was just about to come get you for baby shower plan making." Rick winks to her.

Steffy catches on instantly. "Oh, how fun!"

She walks over to the chair across from her father. "So, what's the plan? Do I need to involve Liam and Hope in this?"

"Maybe, Liam, Wyatt and Thomas should be able to handle Kelleigh on their own for a week, right?"

"They should yeah, why?"

"Well,..." Ridge looks over at Rick.

"I was thinking about making plans for all of you girls to go to New York or Miami or somewhere to have some fun to combine Michalas bridal and baby shower and get those measurements for Carolines gown?"

"Yeah, about Carolines gown. I was thinking about involving Nathan in that. I can't do the fittings for this one as she doesn't know about it and I can't think of anyone better to do them than him. Dad isn't designing anymore and Sally isn't a wedding dress designer and Jacob and David design for men and womens lingerie. I have a pretty good idea of what the dress should look like, but I need him to do the fittings."

Two seconds later, there's a message in Carolines inbox that Ridge needs to see Nathan about something.

"Hey! Nathan!" Caroline looks over at Nathan to see she's got his attention. "Ridge wants to see you about something!"

Nathan nods and goes on the trek to find his way to Ridge Forresters office. He walks through the door and sees that Rick Forrester as well as the head of PR are there. He walks over to shake each of their hands. "So, what did you want to see me about?"

"My daughter here as something she needs you to do for her." Ridge then hands over the floor to his daughter.

When he walks through the door of the design studio later, he knows that he can't talk to anyone about this.

~Things happen~

 **AN:**

 **This is getting exciting isn't it?**

 **Eric Sharpe has entered the scene, Rick wants to ask Caroline to marry him.**

 **If you're wondering. No, Eric Sharpe in this story is not the same as DJ Sharpe in I'm done. They may have the same DNA, but their backgrounds and interests are different. I'd say they separated somewhere during High School and no, Eric and Steffy are not getting together! There may potentially maybe be some flirting, but they're not getting together!**

 **Also, I'm sorry to say that I'm going to take a break from writing fanfiction until at least the end of the year, so 1, 2, 3 and maybe 4 will not be up when I said it would. The reason for this is that school is getting a little bit much to handle as well as my maternal grandfather died Tuesday November 20** **th** **and there's a lot that needs to be done in regards to that and fanfiction is the only thing that I can drop off without feeling guilty about it. So I'm sorry for leaving you hanging, but I will come back at a later date!**


	18. Chapter 18

**AN:**

 **I do not own a thing!**

Things happen

 **Chapter eighteen**

~Things happen~

 _November 5_ _th_

 _Forrester Jet_

Steffy Forrester stretches her legs as the pilot announces that they'd be landing in Miami in just a few minutes. She walks over to the bed and wakes Michala up from her nap, as they'd all need to be seated for the landing.

At twenty-four weeks, it was the best time for Michala to take this trip with all of the women she had started to consider to be her friends, her energy wasn't at its highest, but it wasn't at its lowest either and she knew that it would only get worse in the months to come. She had also been included in the Caroline´s measurements scheme that her future sister in law and current best friend was orchestrating at the moment.

Aly and Hope were oblivious of anything other than the fact that they were going on a trip and they were celebrating Michala´s engagement, pregnancy and future wedding. Bridget had an inkling that something was going to be happening soon, but not exactly what.

Steffy gives a small smile as she thinks about what's happening in LA and New York at the moment. Rick had taken a commercial flight to go and see Karen and Danielle about asking their daughter to marry him and he should be asking the question right about this minute and there should be a text coming through to Steffy´s phone any minute now.

As the plane touches down on solid ground again, Aly releases the seat she's sitting on and breathe a sigh of relief.

"See, it wasn't that bad was it?" Bridget looks over at her niece from the other side of the aisle.

Hope on the other hand can feel Aly shaking. "You're alright!"

"So, should we get going to the hotel?" Steffy says as she rises from the seat and then helps Michala up from hers. "Do you want to rest for a bit?"

Michala nods her head.

"I know you had plans to go to that underwear store, but do you think I could stay behind with Michala? I think I'm still a bit shaken up and need some time to calm down." Aly wonders.

Bridget, Hope, Steffy and Caroline look at each other before Steffy answers her cousin. "Yeah, if that's what you want, I won't force you to come with us! There's so much else we'll be doing during this trip."

Aly gives a big smile her cousins way. "Thank you!"

As the women get off the plane, they see a man waving a sign with Steffy´s name on it and Steffy frowns. _"Wasn't this supposed to be in Michala´s honor, why is the sign in my name?"_

She turns and looks at Bridget, who just shakes her head and Steffy nods her head. _"Mystery continues."_

Steffy turns around to gather up the bags and Bridget turns around and helps her. Caroline turns around as well, but sees that the bags are already on a cart and so they move towards the man with the sign. Bridget pushes the cart and Steffy walks over and greets the man and introduces the other women.

"Welcome to Miami! My name is Robert Micha and I will be your driver the whole trip, except between ten PM and six AM, which hotel will you be staying at?"

Caroline looks at the papers and tells him. He then turns to Michala. "If you want to, you can sit in the passenger seat of the car, because it's easier to get in and out there than in the back."

Michala gives him a small smile and accepts the offer. "Now, if everyone would like to take a seat in the car, I can get these bags loaded up and then we'll get going as I'm guessing some of you might be a little tired?"

All six of the women nod their heads before getting in the car.

When they arrive at the hotel, both Aly and Michala has fallen asleep, so they decide to put them in the same room until the other four women come back to the hotel.

Bridget and Caroline lead Aly and Michala up to the rooms and get the situated, Steffy and Hope bring up the bags and then the group leaves Aly and Michala behind to go shopping.

~Things happen~

 _Karen´s office at Spencer Publications New York_

There's a knock on her door and her wife peaks through the door when it opens. Karen´s smile reaches her eyes. "Hi! What are you doing here?"

Danielle opens the door wider and then walks inside the office. "Hello! I had a visitor this morning who was hoping to talk to the both of us about something, he wasn't sure if you were home or at the office and figured it would be easier to take me to your office then dragging you home from the office, so here we are."

Rick walks through the door with a nervous expression on his face. He grinds his hands together and then he takes a deep breath. "This is harder than I thought, so I'll just show you." He gives them a little smile and then places the tiny little ring box on Karen´s desk.

Danielle picks it up and looks at the slim rose gold woven band with the small gem stones adorning it, she hands it over to her wife and waits for her reaction before showing her own.

Karen looks inside the jewelry box and then lifts her head up to look at her daughter's boyfriend.

Rick takes a deep breath. "I would like to know if I have your permission to marry your daughter?"

Both women look at each other and have what can only be described as a silent conversation with their eyes.

"We need to make a call as we don't know the entire nature of your relationship!"

"Okay, should I leave the room?"

"Yes please! Thank you for understanding!"

Rick leaves the office and Karen dials one of her nephews.

" _Hello?"_

"Hi Liam!"

" _Hi Karen!_ _How are you doing?"_

"I just had a visit from your brother in law and I was wondering how you see his relationship with your cousin?"

" _Why are you asking me this?"_

"Do you feel like Caroline and Rick´s relationship is strong and steady?"

" _I would say so yes, they seem very comfortable with each other and I know that Caroline has been dropping hints that she wants to marry him. Is that what this is about?"_

"Maybe, maybe not."

" _Okay, I hope everything is alright!"_

"Yeah, everything is fine!"

They can hear the smile on Liam´s face. _"That's good!"_

Karen looks over at her wife and nods her head, Danielle goes to open the door and call Rick back inside.

Karen places her elbows on the desk and looks him right in the eyes. "Yes, you have my permission to marry our daughter!"

"Mine as well!" Danielle says with a smile on her face.

"Thank you! I'll make both of you proud!"

"So, when will you be asking her then?"

"The plan was for the day before Christmas eve, but I don't know if I can wait that long."

"Good luck!"

"Thank you!" He gives them a big smile. "Now, I need to get back to the airport, there is a bachelor party happening soon and I'd like to be there!"

"Really?" Confusion spreads on Karen´s face. "Who's getting married?"

"Thomas and Michala are getting married in January and Derek is going to ask Bridget to marry him soon. Derek has asked Stephanie if she'd accept him marrying Bridget and she said that she would, then he asked me and I said that I would love for him to marry Bridget. I believe Carter and Katherine are on their way towards a wedding as well, although probably not next year. So, there are a bunch of weddings happening next year!"

Karen looks over at Danielle. "Seems like we're going to LA a number of times next year!"

Rick nods his head. "I hope you have a great weekend!"

"Likewise, and have a good flight back and a good time at this bachelor party you were talking about!" Karen says with a smile on her face.

Rick waves his hand and then walks out the door.

~Things happen~

 _Los Angeles_

Ridge Forrester walked into the bakery and headed straight for the counter. The woman behind the counter recognizes him and walks out back and brings a box with her as she comes back out. Ridge smiles and then pays for what's in the box.

"Thank you! Have a nice rest of the week!"

"You're welcome! I hope your wife liked that cake you bought for her last week!"

Ridge smiles. "Oh, she did, I did too!" He winks at her and then waves his hand as he leaves.

As he's standing on the sidewalk, he looks around for his next stop, he finds it and then spends the next two hours doing errands and then he runs into Thorne who had been living in the cliff house for about two weeks now, he had asked his daughter to move in with him again, but she had declined the offer in favor of the guest house she was living in on the Forrester Estate.

"Hi! Are you ready?"

"A little worried about my daughter, but she's in the capable hand of your daughter and our sister, but other than that, I am ready for this celebration. By the way, why haven't we had a celebration to welcome Katie into the family as our sister?"

Ridge thinks this over. "Well, she did just expand her family by two a few months ago and she's probably exhausted. Maybe we should have some sort of welcome to the family at some point. But I think we should let her tell us when she's ready!"

Thorne nods his head. "Yeah, that's probably a good idea."

"Well, we should get going then?"

"Do you know where Rick is by the way? I went by their apartment to find him, but he wasn't there."

Ridge gives one of his mysterious smiles. "I do know where he is, but I'm sworn to secrecy by him and my daughter so I can't tell you!"

"You don't think him and Steffy are having an affair, do you?" Thorne says with concern in his whole being.

Ridge bursts out laughing. "Oh, trust me, there's nothing going on between those two that would translate to an affair."

"But they've been spending so much time together and being secretive about something and I can tell on Caroline that it's starting to affect her. She's not the same as the girl I saw when I was here over Christmas and the New Year."

"Yeah, I've seen that too and what Steffy and Rick are doing is going to affect her even more, but what they're doing is not bad. Trust me!"

Thorne sighs. "I guess there's nothing else I can do right now."

"You'll find out soon enough!"

The two brothers then take their cars and drive over to the Spencer-Forrester-James-house.

~Things happen~

On the other side of town, at Ridge´s children's house, there was chaos. Derek and Wyatt were cooking up a storm, while Thomas and Eric were putting up tables in the Hall of the house, you could say they were rehearsing the reception of Thomas and Michala´s wedding.

Thomas looks up from putting a chair in its rightful place. "You know, when we first started drawing up the plans for this house, I was pretty sure that Steffy was insane for wanting this room and the kitchen behind it. It just didn't make sense."

Eric laughs. "It seems your sister can see into the future."

Thomas nods his head. "You are right about that. I mean, you've seen the landscaping behind the pool, right? It's the perfect house to get married in."

"So, what's going to happen when your baby comes or when Jessica moves in with Wyatt? She seems to be getting fed up with living with her friends as well."

Thomas sighs. "I was planning on getting married to Michala first and then bring up the subject of moving out to my sister, I'm pretty sure Aly would want to move in since living in the guest house at mom and dad´s seems to have her slowly go mad. I'm thinking Wyatt and Jessica might move out sooner than Michala and I."

"So, you're perfectly fine with leaving this house in the hands of your very capable sister?"

"Yeah, this house has always been Steffy´s dreamhouse, Michala and I are only living here to help her out. Wyatt is as well. There was one more reason, but I'm not the one to tell that story."

Eric just smiles as he goes back to putting the chairs out.

Eric had fit right in with the group once Steffy got over the shock of him being there and while Derek and Jessica were building his house, he lived with Steffy and Kelleigh, Wyatt and Michala and Thomas, bunking out in the guestroom/office´s daybed, there had been talk about buying an actual bed, but he wouldn't be staying longer than a few months, so he had rejected that idea.

Liam on the other hand was at home with Kelleigh, Jack and Logan. All three kids would later migrate over to Taylor and Ridge´s place to spend time with Taylor, Katie, Will and the twins, but for now, they were spending time with their father/brother in law/uncle in law.

Things were progressing well on all ends of the spectrum.

~Things happen~

 _Miami_

The car stops in front of Steffy´s most favorite lingerie store in all of Miami and the four women in the car get out and sends Robert out to eat lunch or something telling him to be back in four to five hours.

They watch as he drives off and then turn around and walk through the door. A woman greets them with a big smile of recognition on her face as she sees Steffy standing there.

"Welcome back, Steffy! It's been a while!"

"Thank you, Marielle! I've had my hands full for the last two years." Steffy smiles big at the little redhead in front of them.

"I've heard! Congratulations!"

"Thank you!" Steffy starts looking around. "Should we get started?"

Marielle winks at Steffy to show that she remembers what she's supposed to do. "Let's get started. Who wants to go first?"

"I can just walk around and look by myself since I know the store, but Caroline would probably want some help, Hope and Bridget would probably want some help as well? Bridget might be getting married soon and Caroline is living with a man that's seen all of her lingerie already! You know since most of it is a Forrester Design." Steffy laughs a little at her own joke. "Hope is probably just in need of some new lingerie as well! We have two more women with us, one who is currently pregnant and one I don't think is really in the market for lingerie since she didn't want to come. The one who's pregnant is also getting married in January."

"Sounds good to me!" Both Hope and Bridget agree.

"Well then, should I start with Caroline then and get her situated?" Marielle smiles in Caroline´s direction knowing that today, Caroline is the important one.

Caroline nod her head and then she and Marielle walks over to the changing rooms, Marielle reaches over to find a tape measure. She turns around and winks to Steffy.

Both Bridget and Hope sees this and turns to Steffy with curiosity on their faces. After making sure that Caroline is out of hearing range, Steffy turns towards the two sisters.

"I'm scheming!" She says and then turns to walk over to a display that had caught her eye. Bridget and Hope turns to one another and shake their heads before walking over to Steffy.

"What do you mean?" Hope reaches over towards Steffy´s arm to get Steffy´s attention again.

Steffy turns around and just smiles. "You'll find out sooner or later, just play along and whatever Caroline asks you about in regards to the measuring going on right now, just tell her that Marielle did the same thing with you two!"

At this particular moment Marielle walks out and hands Steffy a piece of paper. Steffy smiles at her. "Thank you!"

This just causes more confusion, which Steffy sees. "Don't worry, you two just do your part when it's your turn and you'll find out later!"

"Does this have anything to do with why you've been spending so much time with Rick lately?" Hope looks Steffy dead in the eyes.

"Yes and no I am not having an affair with Rick, so how about you two just trust me on this!" Steffy can still see the doubt in both their eyes. "Oh, get over yourselves!"

The two can see the change in Steffy´s eyes and know that it's time to let it go.

Caroline walks out wearing a corset with a matching pair of underwear and a pair of thigh highs in a beautiful burgundy color. "That is gorgeous!" Steffy exclaims.

"Do you have that set in another color?" Bridget asks.

"We have it in a dark green with a lighter green trim, a nude version with white trim, a black version and a purple version." Marielle lets them know and winks at Steffy.

"I want to try on the dark green version!" Bridget says. "If you have it in my size!"

"I'll have to measure you to see that, but it'll go fast!" Marielle smiles. "I'm not done with Caroline yet, but I'll get to you in a little bit!"

"Sounds good! Take your time!" Bridget watches as Caroline and Marielle goes back into the changing room and Steffy watches Bridget as the light goes off in her head.

The look on Bridget's face is priceless. She turns her head towards Steffy and sees Steffy nod. She brings her hand up to cover her mouth. Hope watches Bridget walk over to Steffy and whisper something in her ear. Steffy smiles. "Yes!"

Bridget picks herself together and then just goes about the rest of the trip to the lingerie store like her normal self, leaving Hope really confused.

When they leave the store four hours later, at the bottom of Steffy´s bag, there's an additional set of lingerie.

~Things happen~

 _LA_

Ridge and Thorne Forrester walk through the door and look around.

"I'll go help Derek and Wyatt in the kitchen!" Thorne said and grabbed the box from his older brother.

Ridge nods his head. "I'll go help my son and Eric in the Hall."

When he walks through the door to the kitchen, he stumbles upon a massive amount of plates and bowls containing a number of different deliciousness. "Well, I see you've been productive?"

"Yes! We're almost done!" Derek looks up as he hears his girlfriend's older brothers voice.

Wyatt peeks out from the fridge. "Hey Thorne!"

"Hey Wyatt! Where's Jessica today?"

"She's overseeing the placement of the second floor of Eric´s house, it's also why she's not in Miami with the others."

"Well, that's nice, that means that Eric will be moving out, soon right?"

"Yeah, they're expecting to be done by February at the latest!" Wyatt nods his head.

"So, when is Jessica moving in with you?"

"We're taking it slow, spend as much time as we can with each other before taking that step."

"Sounds like a good plan to me!" Thorne looks over at Derek. "Take as much time as you need!"

"How are you feeling about your sister´s boyfriend?" Thorne directs the question towards Derek.

"Isn't it a little early for Maribeth to date? She's what, not even three months old?" Wyatt looks out from the fridge again. "Ah, you weren't talking to me!" He says before laughing.

"Carter Walton must be very special if he could get Kath to change her mind about having children of her own and that means he's more than good enough for my sister, I'm happy they found each other."

"There's a reason for that!" Wyatt laughs from inside the fridge while pushing things around to find what he's looking for.

"What do you mean?" Derek says with a frown.

"Oh please, like you didn't know that their relationship started out as a plan in Steffy´s head? Just like yours with Bridget?" The expression on Derek´s face was priceless and both Thorne and Wyatt start laughing so hard.

Ridge, Thomas and Eric walk through the door to the kitchen at that same moment. "Why are you laughing so hard and why does your face look like that Derek?"

"He... I... What.. I'm.. What?" Derek is so confused so Ridge turns towards the two men who's laughing.

"I may have just exposed your daughters plans in regards to Derek and Bridget as well as Katherine and Carter." Wyatt says causing Ridge and Thomas to start laughing as well. Eric still doesn't know what that's all about.

"Why is that so funny?" Eric asks.

"Had Steffy not been working in PR at Forrester Creations, she would've excelled at having her own match making service." Thorne has calmed himself down enough to answer the question. "If you're not careful, you'll be dating someone within the end of the year!"

Eric goes white at the thinly concealed vague threat. Wyatt´s face takes on a mysterious look and then Thorne looks at him.

"She's already got a plan for him, doesn't she?" Thorne asks his step nephew. "Who is she pairing him with?"

"That is not my secret to say." Wyatt says while looking at Eric who's going even paler.

"Oh, don't worry, if Steffy has set her sights on getting you together with someone, it's more than likely the woman you'll spend the rest of your life with." Thomas says.

Eric turns completely white. "But.. But... But.. But I'm gay?"

Every other jaw except Wyatt´s in the room drops and he just laughs. "It's a good thing she has a man in mind for you then don't you think?" Then the other men in the room starts laughing.

"Steffy´s intuition when it comes to love just knows no bounds." Ridge says with pride in his voice.

"Except when it comes to herself." Thorne says with a sad look on his face.

"Yeah, but hopefully that'll end soon. She's not looking for love right now so she'll end up with a boyfriend soon." Thomas runs his hand down his father´s back, who just nods.

"Yeah, we'll make sure it's a nice fit."

Thomas starts smiling. "Have you heard what happened in the design studio yesterday?"

"No?"

"Apparently Kelleigh got away from her yesterday on the way to make lunch plans with everyone and she toddled her way to the design studio, Caroline looked up when she heard Kelleigh coming and got a good view of a very suspicious moment."

This has the attention of everyone. "So?"

"Well, apparently baby Kelleigh has a crush!" Thomas just laughs. "And her crush seems to be 'crushing' right back!"

Ridge raises his eyebrows. "Huuh?"

"After Kelleigh got to the design studio, she made a bee-line towards Nathan and upon hearing her coming, he bent down to her level and got a big hug, then he picked her up and started showing her what he was working on. Caroline then looked over at the door and saw Steffy standing there watching her daughter and Nathan look over his designs, then she disappeared." Thomas takes a breath. "When Caroline asked Steffy about it at the end of the day, Steffy just said that she knew Kelleigh would be safe with Nathan and as far as Caroline knows, Nathan has never complained about Kelleigh coming to see him. It sounds as if it's happened more than once."

"Those three would make a good-looking family, wouldn't they?" Derek asks.

"They would, but I'm not sure either of them is really looking for a relationship."

"Steffy told me about a conversation she had with Caroline a while back, back when she showed the dress design for Michala´s dress, where Caroline had asked if Nathan couldn't be the one. Steffy said that if that happened, it would happen, but she wasn't going to force it. Seems like Kelleigh has other ideas though!"

"We'll just see what happens then." Ridge says.

~Things happen~

 _Miami_

They came back to the hotel room and put their bags down, Michala still hadn't woken up, but Aly was up and about. She had even ordered room service and was munching away on apple slices and other fruits when they walked through the door.

"Have you had a great shopping trip?" Aly asks.

"We did, very productive." Bridget says with a smile on her face, Aly smiles back and nods her head.

"What is the plan for the rest of the trip then?" Hope asks turning her attention over to Steffy.

"Well, tomorrow is Disney World, the day after is another shopping day, pool day and then the day after that is free to do what you please." Steffy looks at her phone, she still hadn't gotten a text from Rick and was getting worried. "The only day with any real plans is tomorrow."

Hope nods her head.

"Hey Bridget, have you gotten any texts from your brother over the last three hours?" Steffy turns her attention towards Bridget.

"I have actually, I think it is for you though!" Bridget had gone to fetch her phone when Steffy asks.

"Can you forward it to my phone?" Steffy can see the curiosity on Caroline´s face, Bridget can too, but she just nods her head, after the sound indicating that Steffy had gotten a text had been sent through she reads it and smiles before looking up to her aunt. "Thank you!"

"What did it say?" Caroline says with a slight angry tone to her voice, directing it to Bridget.

Bridget looks towards Steffy and sees her nod. "Tuesday, 1600, three days ago."

All women present, except Steffy and Bridget look at each other with confusion on their face. "What does that mean?" Caroline glares at Steffy.

"That is for me to know and you to find out!" Steffy just shrugs her shoulders. "Don't worry. Everything will be fine!"

"No, tell me what happens on Tuesday at 4 PM!" Caroline growls at Steffy.

Steffy just shakes her head and leaves. Caroline runs after and grabs a hold of Steffy. "Tell me!"

"No and you need to let it go!"

Caroline slaps Steffy, who glares at Caroline before leaving again. Caroline turns around and looks back into the room and sees Bridget looking at her before shaking her head. "You really should let it go, she told you everything would be fine and that you'll find out, but not right now and you should trust her, she's done nothing to you that would lead you to believe she'd do anything that would end up causing you harm!"

"But she's keeping secrets from me with my boyfriend, I deserve to know what that is!"

"You'll find out when it's time for you to find out, get over it!"

Bridget then leaves and goes to the room she believes Steffy is currently in. She knocks on the door and tries the handle, it opens so she walks right in, finding Steffy sitting in one of the arm chairs by the window. Steffy turns her head when she hears someone come through the door and smiles.

"I understand the reasoning behind that slap, I can also see why she'd think I'd deserve it, but I know the truth and I know that I didn't, but I'll let it go, she'll regret it enough when it all comes out!" Steffy says in a low voice, trying to keep anyone else from finding out, knowing very well Caroline is probably standing by the door.

Getting frustrated by not getting the answers she wants, Caroline had gone back to the room and taken a seat with Hope and Aly.

Hope gives a big sigh. "You know you can trust Steffy right?"

Caroline is taken back by that question. "I never thought I'd hear you defend Steffy like that!"

"Oh, I didn't either, but I have a feeling the secret she's keeping is a really good one and that it won't lead to you and Rick breaking up!" Hope stands up and leaves the room and Caroline turns towards Aly looking for support.

"You might be my uncle´s girlfriend, but you're wrong about this and Steffy is my cousin. Let it go!"

~Things happen~

 _Flash forward_

 _December 16_ _th_ _2014_

 _Los Angeles Music Center_

Caroline was sitting in her seat watching her favorite Opera next to her boyfriend, Rick Forrester. There had just been an intermission and the two had taken the opportunity to stretch their legs.

 _They had walked outside to one of the big stair cases in the building and at the top of the stair case, Rick had placed her so that she could look at the wonderful architecture that was the structure of the building, then when she turned around, he had dropped down on one knee and held out a box with a ring in it. Small tears had started to fall down her face._

" _Caroline Spencer, I know you've been under a lot of stress lately and that I haven't done much to elevate any of it, in fact I've probably only piled more on, but, will you do me the honor of becoming my wife?"_

 _And it clicks in Caroline´s head. "Monday, 15:00, two days ago!"_

" _Really?" The sparkle in his eyes is just too cute to resist, so she nods her head and puts her hands on his cheeks and kisses him._

" _Yes, I'll marry you!"_

 _As applause were heard, they turn around and see a whole bunch of family standing there._

" _See! I told you, you were wrong about this!" Aly says before going back to watch the ending of the opera._

She looks at her hand and a smile appear on her lips.

 _End flash forward_

~Things happen~

 _November 5_ _th_ _2014_

 _Paris_

 _Forrester International_

He packs up the rest of his office and then checks his flight plan again, he should be in Los Angeles by Sunday evening at the latest. He realized that booking his flight on a Saturday had been a bad idea, but it just had to be done.

Pictures had been circulating the office of Steffy Forrester´s little girl and he had been so proud of his boss for making the trip back to LA that late in her pregnancy and she had flourished once back home, it seemed as if everything had worked out for her, especially after Brooke Logan had realized her defeat after Steffy´s parents had remarried and left the city.

Two days ago, he had been given the option of coming back to the states to work at the mother company again and he had jumped on it. It would let him work with one of his best friends again and let him be close to the family once again.

While Steffy had been in Paris, he'd been the one who protected and shielded her from the paparazzi´s to help her keep her secret and during this time, they had formed a bond that more resembled siblings than anything else.

It was a surprise, Steffy had no idea he was coming back, but he was sure she'd be happy, but, right now it was time to back up his apartment and send his things back to the US.

As he walks by the mirrors on his way from the office, he sees his own reflection. A pair of golden-brown eyes look at a slightly crocked nose, a pair of full lips and bushy eye brows set perfectly apart and the cause of so many women sighing when they see him, the smile his lips forms is probably the most perfect thing about him, not counting his dimples. Steffy had always teased him about the length of his dark brown locks, but his hair completed his look and when you combine it with his muscular build, strong legs and small hips, he looked like a Greek God.

As he walks away, everyone wishes him good luck and hopes that the plane ride goes well and that he should tell Steffy "Hi!" from all of them and that they miss her. He just smiles and says he will with that deep voice that Steffy called a blend between honey and coffee.

He gets all the way home and in through the door before letting himself cry, because he was going to miss everyone and the city as well, but he also knew that going back to the states was a good thing. He looked like a bad ass, but when you got to know him, he was just a big teddy bear.

It could make you wonder why nothing had happened between him and Steffy, well, their tastes in significant other had one thing in common and that being that their significant other was going to be a man, then add to that that the last time he saw her in person, she had been almost eight months pregnant with another man's baby.

He laughs a little while packing up all of his personal belongings from the apartment and putting them in boxes.

Ridge Forrester had called him and asked if he wanted to fill in for Michala after she goes on maternity leave and he'd accepted without hesitation, they also needed to expand the PR-staff by one and letting him ease into it while Michala was at home with the baby would be a good thing, then when Michala comes back, his job would turn into a 'Until further notice'-position.

~Things happen~

 _November 10_ _th_ _2014_

 _Los Angeles_

 _Forrester Creations_

 _PR-department._

Steffy walks through the doors to her work place and is almost scared to death.

"Good morning!" Honey and coffee spilling over her ears and chills of excitement flows down her spine as the fear disappears. "How is everything going?"

She hands her daughter over to Michala and runs over to him to jump into his arms. Kelleigh somehow remembers that voice and stops struggling in her future aunt-in-law´s arms.

"So, I see the introduction went well?" Ridge says from the door.

Michala walks over to Ridge. "Who's that?"

Steffy turns around and the smile on her face beams all over the place.

"This right here is my bestest bestest friend in Paris, Graham Gregory! Also known as GG."

"Oh, I thought you said Gigi, when you talked about him. Makes sense now!" Michala chuckles then she turns back to Ridge. "Hey, could you maybe take your granddaughter for a while. Baby is having a blast with my ribs and having her laying against them as well just caused even more unease. So, I take it this is the person you talked to me about taking over while on maternity leave?"

Ridge just nods his head.

"You're going to work here with me?" Steffy turns towards Graham again and when he nods again, she just throws herself at him and he catches her with ease.

"We haven't done that in a while! I like it!"

Two people had decided to join the group in the PR-department though.

"Who are you?" Liam asks with a tiny hint of jealousy in his voice at the sight of Steffy´s blinding glittery-ish smile and the joy in her eyes.

The other one just gets the wind knocked out of their chest.

~Things happen~

 **AN:**

 **So, not much about the trip to Miami, or the bachelor party that turned times three there, what with Thomas already having his fiance, Derek almost having his and Rick almost having his as well, but, nothing much happened during any of those events other then what has been read by you and mostly that kind which happens on a girls trip where one girl is pregnant and about to get married and in Los Angeles all that happened was that there was food eaten, cake cut and sleep overs since nobody should drive after drinking alcohol. Steffy´s knack for finding future couples reared its head again and scared the crap out of Eric.**

 **We had an appearance of family friend living in Paris, a proposal and a surprise for Steffy, productive chapter don't you think?**


End file.
